But What Will They Say?
by just.say.you're.not.into.it
Summary: A Fanfiction containing A Rocket to the Moon, The Downtown Fiction, The Maine, The Summer Set and more. Eric Halvorsen, Cameron Leahy, John Ohh, Kennedy Brock, and more! Some original characters and an original story line.
1. Introduction

**Hello.**

My cousin and I are writing a story. A collab.  
The way this story works is, we both write a different viewpoint from a different character. There are two main characters to this story. We will post two chapters at a time, one from the viewpoint of Julia and one from the viewpoint of Peyton.

**Julia Bell**

**Picture**: Check our user profile.

20 years old

**Hometown**: Fairfax, Virginia

**Currently Residing in**: Tempe, Arizona

**Random Fact:** Moved from Virginia to Arizona because of family problems.

**Peyton Smith**

**Picture:** Check our user profile.

21 years old

**Hometown**: Tempe, Arizona

**Currently Residing in:** Tempe, Arizona

**Random Fact:** Loves Youtube

**We hope you enjoy.**


	2. Caught Up In You

"Julie, come here, you have to see this!" my roommate/best friend Peyton called from our apartment's living room.

"What is it?" I asked. I plopped down on the couch and looked at what she was pointing at; the television.

" _Joe Karris here for KVBX news. It's madness here at Randy Joe's Bar and Grill! Two bands, A Rocket to the Moon and The Downtown Fiction, are to play a show tonight, and everyone is going crazy!"_

There's a reason she showed me that news cast…Peyton and I have been long time friends of both Rocket and Downtown Fiction. Except Peyton had this thing for Eric Halvorsen, but we'll get into that later.

"Ha-ha, look at the girls behind him, flailing their arms and screaming, " she said.

"..Look, that girl's wearing an 'I heart Halvo' shirt!" I chuckled, pointing to the screen.

"Oh…she will die," Peyton joked…I think.

"_Randy Joe's has never seen a crowd like this! And we have someone from The Downtown Fiction here to talk to us right now! Will you tell us your name?"_

"_Uh...yeah. I'm Cameron Leahy." _

"Aw, look at Cameron being famous and shit," I giggled.

Cameron Leahy was my best friend, aside from Peyton. We became best friends in kindergarten. I was such a boy back then, and when I walked past him, I decided I'd just let one rip right on him. Later that day during nap time, he decided to get me back. On my face. We have been best friends since that day. But sometimes, I thought that I…

"_Alright..how do you feel seeing all the people here waiting to watch you perform?"_

"_Well…it's not like it's just me. My band and Rocket are looking forward to playing here. This IS where we started, you know. Our first gigs were played here."_

" AND WE WERE THERE!" Peyton and I yelled in unison, then bursting out into laughter.

"_How interesting! Any preshow rituals you go through to get you ready for a show?"_

" _Yeah…I usually call my best friend Julia a few minutes before we go on. I always feel nervous, but she makes me feel calm."_

"_How nice! Well, good luck to you and the boys of A Rocket to the Moon."_

"_Thanks, Joe."_

"_Alright, this has been Joe Karris with KVBX news."_

"HOW SWEET!" Peyton fangasmed. "I swear, JuJu, he loves you."

"Hah, yeah," I mumbled. _But not the love I want._

"_I'll never be your beast of burden  
So let's go home and draw the __curtains__  
Music on the radio  
Come on baby make sweet love to me"_

"Oh, speak of the devil," Peyton chuckled. That was my ringtone for Cameron, he picked it out himself. He loved the Rolling Stones.

I answered, "Sup boo?"

"Were you fucking watching that? I was on the fucking news!" he exclaimed. I let out a laugh.

"I was watchin', I was watchin'. What time's the show tonight?"

"Around 6. Please tell me you two are coming."

"I can't tell you that. We couldn't get tickets."

"Oh." The tone in his voice changed quickly. "I really don't want to do the show without you and Peyton. It wouldn't be right doing a show here without you two."

" I know, but we lucked out."

"Hmm…" he was silent for a minute or two. Then his voice got happy again. "Just come in back and I'll bring you guys in with me, okay?"

I smiled. "Aright, when should we get there?"

"Uh, be here in like, an hour."

"Alright, see you then."

"Okay. See ya soon boo!" He hung up. I turned to Peyton.

"Hey…get ready as fast as you can. We're going to Randy Joe's."

~~~~~

We arrived at Randy Joe's to see it crowded by a bunch of girls and their mothers. We drove around and parked in back to see Cameron waiting for us by the back door. He greeted Peyton with a hug, then me, followed by our secret handshake that we have been doing since the first grade. 

"I'm pretty excited about tonight. Haven't played here since our first show," Cameron said, looking at the venue.

"I know…I haven't even set foot near this place since then," Peyton stated, also facing the venue.  
I walked up in between them and rested my arm on both of their shoulders.

"Well, let's enter, shall we?"

We went in and we were greeted by the rest of Downtown Fiction and Rocket. We exchanged hugs with everyone.

"Wow Peyton… you look pretty great," Halvo said. Peyton went into a deep blush.

"Thanks Halvo…you look good, too. Like usual."

The look on her face changed right after she said that. I'm sure she didn't mean to sound such like a creeper…but Eric chuckled and replied.

"Well thank you. We have to do sound check, but we'll talk afterwards. I promise." He winked at her, and him and the rest of Rocket walked into a separate room. Peyton turned around to me and mouthed "Oh. My. God." I laughed and said, "Why don't you go watch them?"

"Heh...yeah," she mumbled, quickly turning and dashing out behind them. David, Eric, and Cameron all busted out laughing. I glared at them.

"What' so funny?"

"It's just how quickly she followed them," David said. "Eric, you wanna grab some grub before its our sound check?"

"Yeah, bro…Cameron, Julia? Wanna come?" Eric asked us.

"Nah," we answered in unison.

"Alright, see you guys later," David called out, leaving the room. Eric followed behind.

Cameron sat down on a love seat that was in the room we were in, and I sat down beside him.

"My feet hurt like a bitch," I groaned.

"Well, take your shoes off. I'll massage them, that usually helps them," he said, taking off my shoes. He placed my legs in his lap and began rubbing my foot with his hands.

"I don't even know why you do this," I said to him.

"I don't like you being in pain," he stated, moving to the other foot.

"But you hate feet more than anything."

"I know…but, I don't know. I've always done this with you. It has never bothered me before."  
I watched as he rubbed my pain away. He had a look on his face that told me he was thinking about something.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Shoot," I said.

"Do you remember when we dated in the 7th grade?"

I let out a chuckle. "You mean, the month we called each other boyfriend and girlfriend but then broke up because you said we're better off as friends?" I looked at Cameron, still rubbing my feet. Something was really bothering him.

"Yeah…" he mumbled.

"Well…what about it?" I asked.

He didn't say anything for a few seconds. He let in a deep breath and released with these words, "Not a day goes by where I don't wish that we were still together." He stopped rubbing my feet and looked at me.

"I...what?" I was a little startled.

"Julia…I am in love with you. I always have been, and I probably always will be."


	3. Center of Attention

A/N Hey guys! Thanks for reading our fanfic! The first chapter isn't that interesting, but there are more fun things to come!

-Annabelle

* * *

"Flipping through the channels feeling like Carl Winslow," I sang under my breath to the tune of "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha. Couldn't stand the girl, but she had a catchy tune. I make up random songs, to already well known tunes. Why? Because I can. That's when I saw it. That handsome ass bastard was getting TV time!

"Julie, come here, you have to see this!" I yelled, from my comfy position on our couch.

"What is it?" she asked as she plopped down on the couch next to me. She's going to flip out.

_" Joe Karris here for KVBX news. It's madness here at Randy Joe's Bar and Grill! Two bands, A Rocket to the Moon and The Downtown Fiction, are to play a show tonight, and everyone is going crazy!"_

We knew both of the bands very well. Julie has had a thing for Cameron since before we were even friends. Their story started with something about flatulence at an early age or something like that. I find it both cute and disturbing as to how they became friends. But what could I say, they belonged together. Now if only they could see that…

"Ha-ha, look at the girls behind him, flailing their arms and screaming, "I said, clearly mesmerized at the fan base those boys had now. I remember when they were scrawny kids, playing for any and everything that would listen to them.

"..Look, that girl's wearing an 'I heart Halvo' shirt!" Julia chuckled, pointing to the screen.

"Oh…she will die," I muttered. Dumb skank! Do these girls think that wearing stupid home-made t-shirts is going to get them into bed with any band boy? Halvo and I have known each other for a while, and I love that mouth-breather so much. Well, maybe not love, yet. He doesn't see me that way, or at least I don't think he does.

"_Randy Joe's has never seen a crowd like this! And we have someone from The Downtown Fiction here to talk to us right now! Will you tell us your name?"  
"Uh...yeah. I'm Cameron Leahy." _

_  
_"Aw, look at Cameron being famous and shit," Julie giggled. I smiled. I was happy for him! His band was going places.

"_Alright..how do you feel seeing all the people here waiting to watch you perform?"  
"Well…it's not like it's just me. My band and Rocket are looking forward to playing here. This IS where we started, you know. Our first gigs were played here."_

_  
_"AND WE WERE THERE!" Julia and I yelled in unison, then bursting out into laughter. What a day that was!

_"How interesting! Any preshow rituals you go through to get you ready for a show?"  
" Yeah…I usually call my best friend Julia a few minutes before we go on. I always feel nervous, but she makes me feel calm."  
"How nice! Well, good luck to you and the boys of A Rocket to the Moon."  
"Thanks, Joe."  
"Alright, this has been Joe Karris with KVBX news."_

"HOW SWEET!" I fangasmed. "I swear, JuJu, he loves you."

"Hah, yeah," she mumbled, like I didn't know what she was thinking. I don't know why she doesn't just grow some big ones and declare her undying love to the boy, and they would get married, and I would be the maid of honor, dancing with all of the hot groomsmen and…._  
_

"_I'll never be your beast of burden  
So let's go home and draw the __curtains__  
Music on the radio  
Come on baby make sweet love to me"_

_  
_"Oh, speak of the devil," I chuckled, ignoring to acknowledge the fact that I had just planned my best friends make-believe wedding in my head.

I ignored her conversation, not wanting to invade her privacy. My thoughts drifted to a very tall, very thin boy, with a voice too deep for his body. He was in the same town I was in, and I was stuck here, because Julie and I had failed to get tickets. Halvo and I, not really much I could say about it, because there was no "Halvo and I." Unfortunately.

"Hey…get ready as fast as you can. We're going to Randy Joe's." she chimed in, interrupting my thoughts. I would get to see the mouth-breather after all. Oh boy!

We arrived at Randy Joe's to see it crowded by a mass of people. I rolled down the window and cranked up the stereo when we were passing by all of the young teenagers and their mothers. "Dakota," by A Rocket to the Moon was playing, and I wanted to see if I could get these fan-girls excited. Being loud and obnoxious, it's what I do. I honk at random animals when I pass them, cows, horses, dead squirrels on the road, it doesn't matter. I yell at random people out of my window, that's just the way I roll. My plan worked, all of the fan-girls started singing along, and getting pumped. When they started singing, I turned the stereo back down and stuck out my tongue at them. I hate people younger than me most of the time. Not that I was old or anything, 21 is still young in the eyes of most. I really didn't hate fan-girls, I mean I used to be one, but I have matured. To an extent...

We passed A Rocket To The Moon's van, and my heart kind of stopped. There were some good memories in that van. Not dirty, slutty memories, but friendly, nice memories. Eric and I spent all night talking in that van once. That was, to this day, the best night of my life. That van held my heart. We drove around and parked in back to see Cameron waiting for us by the back door. Julie's face lit up, not that I was watching…

He greeted me with the standard friends hug, and then moved onto Julie. They did their "secret handshake" that they have been doing ever since I knew them.

"I'm pretty excited about tonight. Haven't played here since our first show," Cameron said, looking at the venue.

"I know…I haven't even set foot near this place since then," I replied, also facing the venue.  
Julie walked up in between us and rested her arm on both of their shoulders. "Well, let's enter, shall we?"

We went in and we were greeted by the rest of Downtown Fiction and Rocket. We exchanged hugs with everyone. When I got to Eric, I inhaled the scent of his shirt. Oh boy, did he smelled delightful.

"Wow Peyton… you look pretty great," Halvo said. I blushed. God, I hated that I blushed so easily..

"Thanks Halvo…you look good, too. Like usual." I replied. Oh god, did I have to add that? I could die right now… I looked over at Julie, she was trying not to laugh.  
He chuckled and replied, "Well thank you. We have to do sound check, but we'll talk afterwards. I promise." He winked at me, and my knees turned into jelly. Oh Eric Halvorsen, the things you do to me without even trying..

I turned around to look at Julie and mouthed "Oh. My. God." She laughed at me and said, "Why don't you go watch them?"

Duh. "Heh...yeah," I mumbled, turning to go follow Eric Halvorsen, hoping I didn't look like a lost puppy.

The band walked up to the stage, and I went and sat down at the bar located in the back corner of the venue. They started playing, and I was stoked to be sitting here watching one of my favorite bands soundcheck.

"She likes the taste of Captain Morgan…" Nick sang into the microphone as the opening chords of "Give a Damn" rang through the room. I smiled to myself. God I love this song. I'm sure all of those pre-teens outside would kill to be where I am. I watched Eric, trying not ogle too much. I could only think of what Julie would say about that. She thinks I have no game when it comes to picking up guys. Truth be told, I don't. I'm more than likely the only 21 year old virgin around for miles. I'm not a virgin for the lack of trying, I just don't have a great track record with guys. The boys started playing "Like We Used To," and already, I knew I had to focus on something else or I would start crying. I did every time I heard that song. I turned around and started a friendly conversation with bar tender. His name was Tom, or Tim, or Tiny or something like that. He was flirting pretty heavily, I think. I was not interested, for his name was not "Eric Halvorsen."

"Would you like a drink? You look pretty nervous?" he offered. I looked down at my hands fidgeting in my lap. "No, no, no! You shouldn't!" is what I kept repeating in my head. I have a small problem with alcoholic beverages. Once I start, it's hard for me to stop. I looked over my shoulder at Eric, playing the bass flawlessly, looking like a god. He caught sight of me and smiled slightly. It almost looked like a sad smile. I turned my attention back to Tom, Tim, or Tiny, and nodded. I pulled out my wallet, flashed my ID, and ordered a vodka and Red Bull. I started pulling out some dollar bills to cover the over-priced drink, when he grabbed my hand, motioning for me to put it away.

"Your money is no good here. Tell me something about yourself instead," he smiled.

"Well. My name is Peyton. I am twenty-one. That's it!" I replied, taking a sip of my drink. I am not into spilling my guts out to strangers.

"Peyton. Nice. I got both of those facts from your ID. That's all there is to you? A name and an age?" he asked.

"Yup, that's all I am," I answered him. I looked behind me again and saw Eric staring at me from the stage. I quickly turned around and sighed and downed the rest of my drink. "Hit me with another, bartender!" I yelled, slamming my cup down. He smiled and refilled my drink, with a generous proportion of vodka. I tipped my glass to him in thanks, and steadily knocked that one back. I drank two more and decided that I needed to slow down or quit drinking. Hard decision. I felt someone breathing on the back of my neck. I hadn't noticed the music stopped. I slowly turned my head and came face to face with a blue plaid shirt. My eyes shifted upwards and saw Eric standing there. Of course, as if the mouth breathing hadn't tipped me off. I smiled and stood up.

"'Sup buddy?!" I asked, throwing my arms around him. I wasn't drunk, but I was feeling those generous proportions of vodka already. Eric shot the bartender a dirty look, and grabbed my hand, leading me away from good old what's his name. "Goodbye Tony!" I yelled over my shoulder and trailed behind Eric, as he urgently pulled on my hand.

"Whoa! Where's the fire?" I asked, wondering where Halvo was taking me. "If it's in your pants, I can help with that!" I said in a sing-song voice. He stopped walking, and I mentally slapped myself on the forehead. He turned around and pushed me against the wall, staring down at me. I looked up at him, licking my lips in anticipation for what I thought was coming next.


	4. Best I Never Had

I stared at him. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to feel.  
A few seconds later, Eric and David walked in.

"Sorry we're a little late. Ready for sound check, man?" David said to Cameron.

"Definitely…" he murmured, dashing out of the room.

I felt like I was about to cry. I needed to go think… I looked around the room and eventually found a napkin and a pen lying around, so I wrote a note.

_Sorry I'm not here, guys. I needed to go home and just chillax for a few. Get some things off my mind. But I promise, I'll be back for the show. They know who I am, so I'll have no problem getting back in. Again, sorry I left.  
Love,  
JuJu~_

I left it on the door and I walked back to the apartment. It wasn't thaaat far…I still can't believe that happened. I mean, I loved Cameron, but was it that kind of love? I …

I sat in the apartment just listening to my iPod, thinking, for an hour until I finally received a knock. I figured it was Peyton checking in. I walked up to the door and opened it. It wasn't Peyton.

"Cameron?...You shouldn't be here. What're you doing?" I asked in kept looking at the floor.

"I figured I was the reason you left, so I came to check on you…" he mumbled.

"Here, come in, take a seat," I said, motioning him to the couch. We both plopped down. "I didn't mean to just leave like that, it was just…what you said…all of a sudden, you know?

"I know, but I've been holding it in for a long, long, time. I just couldn't hold it anymore," he said.

"I left because I had to think. About everything."

"Oh…" he stood up. "I'm sorry I brought all of this on you. Maybe I should leave…" He started to walk away, but I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down.

"I'm not done with you," I stated. "After thinking about everything, I realized something." I still had a firm grip on his wrist.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I'm in love with you too," I said, pulling him towards me into a kiss. A long, passionate, kiss, full of emotion that has been held back for many years.

We eventually head back to the venue, but this time, it was different. We weren't Cameron and Julia: best friends. We were Cameron and Julia: boyfriend and girlfriend.

There was only about 10 minutes until Rocket had to be on stage to play. Cameron had to go into a separate room with the rest of his band mates, so I decided to find Peyton. She was standing next to a bass rack what was right beside Eric's spot on stage. I walked up beside her.

"So, how's it been?" I asked her with a smile. The boys from Rocket passed us, going on stage.

"Fucking fantastic," she replied, keeping her eyes on Halvo.

"Oh really? Same here," I stated. I don't think she was listening.

"Who knew mouth breathers could be so sexy?" She let out a dreamy sigh. I laughed and watched A Rocket to the Moon play.

_"It's the way you do the things you do  
That made me fall in love with you  
Dakota, are you in love with me too?"_

"You're staying up just to dance alone  
I'm dressing down cause I'm tired and I wanna go home  
You look the part but looks don't tell the truth  
Baby you're pretty but I'm pretty sure I'm over you"

"_'Cause no one knows you like I do  
They don't see you like I do, __baby__  
They'll try to, but if only they knew  
They'll never come close to you"  
_  
"Thank you…we are A Rocket to the Moon! We love you!" They all exited the stage, passing us.

"Great show!" I said to them all.

"Thank you," they all said back as they passed. As Halvo passed, he smiled at Peyton and quickly walked on. The color of her face turned was about as red as a fire truck. Peyton followed behind them, but I stayed in that spot since my boyfriend's band was about to play. …Boyfriend. Cameron was my boyfriend. I'd have to get used to saying that.

A minute or two passed, and Eric and David passed me.

"Good luck," I said to them.

"Thank ya!" they both yelled back in unison. Shortly after, Cameron was up. He came up to me and hugged me.

"Thank you for being here. I love you." He pulled me in for a kiss and walked onto stage. "Hello everyone! We are The Downtown Fiction!"

I didn't tune in to their set for the first few minutes because I was lost in thought. It was all surreal to me that Cameron and I were actually dating now. I shook it off and watched the show.

_"And the world is spinnin' much too fast  
Well I can hardly catch my breath and I just hope that this will last  
The world is slippin' from my grasp  
I'm looking 'round to find, the girl I left behind  
You were the best I never had"_

"So _baby__ could you show me what it's like?  
If only you could take me home tonight  
And baby could you show me it's easy to breathe  
You made a mess of me"___

_"I'm living proof, broken and defeated  
I'm the shattered youth and no one could believe it  
If I can't have you, well darlin' I just can't go on"_

"Thank you everyone for coming to see us and A Rocket to the Moon!...We are The Downtown Fiction! Goodnight!"

They all exited the stage quickly. As they did, Cameron pulled my hand and dragged me with them. We entered a room and we were reunited with Rocket and Peyton, and Cameron was still holding my hand. Peyton shot me a look, but I shot back an 'I'll explain later' look.

"This was by far the best show we've ever played, so good job everyone!" Justin said. Some "yeah!"'s and "fuck yes!"'s were yelled.

"So…where's the after party? David asked. Everyone in the room slowly turned their heads toward Peyton and I. I let out a long drawn sigh.

"Our apartment?"

"Yes! Great! Good! I'll go get drinks," Halvo said.

"…Can I come with?" Peyton asked.

"I'd like that," he answered with a smile. Those two left, and everyone else went with me back to the apartment.


	5. Set Phasers To Stun

I waited. For what seemed like minutes, when in reality, I'm sure it was a few seconds. All he had to do was lean down a few inches, press his lips to mine and I would reach my own version of Utopia. That didn't happen.

"What are you doing Peyton?" he looked into my eyes, sounding sad. What was I doing?

"I…I…" I tripped over my words, not knowing what I was going to say. What was I doing? I was trying to get the fucking party started early, and not be so nervous around you, buddy. I wasn't about to tell him that.

"You are better than this Peyton. Remember last time you were drunk, we found you passed out in our van? I had to stay with you the whole night to make sure you didn't pull a 'Bon Scott' and choke on your own vomit. Thank god it didn't last long. You promised me that you would stop drinking so much," he spat out, looking angry.

"Funny, I didn't realize it was such a bother for you to be stuck in a van with me all night. I didn't pull a 'Bon Scott,' and have NEVER in my life thrown up from drinking. I am a big girl, Eric, and you don't have to fill the 'hero' role if you don't want to! Am I acting drunk? NO. I can hold my alcohol like a mother fucking MAN! Better than a MAN! I could out drink you, anytime anywhere!" I retorted, yanking my hand out of his grasp, and turning to stomp away. My stomp more or less turned into a trip and I hit my head on the wall. That sobered me right on up. "Fuck me, that hurt!" I yelled, attracting the attention of everybody in the room, including the bartender. Tim, Tiny, Tony, something. Halvo shook his head, sighed, and grabbed my hand. He started leading me out of the main room of the venue and into a smaller room. He made me sit down on the couch.

"Stay here. Do not move. Or I will hunt you down and kick your stupid ass," he smiled a little, and exited the room. I sighed. Where the flip was Julia? I pulled out my iphone and checked the time. Not long until showtime. I stood up to go look for Julia, when I remembered Halvo's strict rules. I fell back down on the couch and grunted. My head was killing me, not that I would tell Halvo that after I talked myself up in front of him. Why did I do that? I sounded like a complete feg.

"Here you go Boozy!" he said, handing me a bottle of water. I rolled my eyes. Boozy. How original. He knew my love for One Tree Hill, and the fact that they called Keith "Boozy." I made him watch all of the seasons one time when he was home one weekend. He sat on one side of the couch, I sat on the other. He claimed it was torture to watch, but I know he loved it. He had bandages in his other hand, along with a big bottle of the devil.

"What are those for?" I asked, after taking a sip of the cold water.

"Your head," he replied, opening the peroxide.

"NO!" I stood up.

"WHAT?" he yelled back, clearly forgetting the key point. He knew this already!

"No peroxide. It isn't even bleeding!" I pleaded, reaching up to feel where my noggin came into contact with the wall. I pulled my hand down, and oh jeez, look at that. Blood.

"Peroxide isn't going to kill you Pey," he said slowly. I bit my bottom lip. I hated peroxide. It didn't hurt or anything, but the fizzing freaked me out.

"My head is fine! I have suffered much worse." I said, slowly backing up.

"Just humor me, please," he let out in a sigh. How could I say no to that?

"Yes sir…" I answered, sitting back down on the couch, defeated. He sat down next to me and patted his lap, indicating that's where I should lay my head. Breathe, Peyton, Breathe. Your head is going near Halvo's happy place. This is a monumental moment in your life. I layed my head down, and closed my eyes. He slowly brushed my long, chestnut hair out of the way.

"Okay, I am going to narrate what I am doing. Nothing will come as a surprise. I don't want to scare you, I just want to make sure this doesn't get infected," he said in his deep voice. I squeezed my eyes shut. Your head is not near Halvo's junk. Your head is not near Halvo's junk. OH GOD, your head is near Halvo's junk! Your head is near Halvo's junk!

"Pouring!" he said in a funny high pitched voice that I was sure he was using to make me relax. He put a towel over part of my face so that the excess liquid didn't run all over the place. It started fizzing, I could hear it. I am not a baby, I promise, it just freaks me out. Peroxide makes me think of a million little bubbles with swords and shields fighting off germs. It kind of freaked me out.

"Hello Kitty, or Ninja Turtles?" he asked.

"Why would a band of four boys have Hello Kitty band-aids?" I asked, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Nick," was all he said. I'm just going to let that go.

"Ninja Turtles. I don't know why you even asked!" I said, trying to sound hurt.

"Sorry," he chuckled, fumbling with the band-aid, placing it on my cut and staring at it like it was the most interesting thing in the world. "So…. About that fire in my pants?" he brought up, smiling that toothy grin. I. Could. Have. Died. I sat up, blushing the deepest shade of red I am sure my face could manage.

"You know… you're so good at being the hero, put out your own fire." I answered, standing up and looking in the mirror on the wall at my Ninja Turtles band-aid. Kick ass! I smiled to myself. Eric Halvorsen just doctored up my head, and gave me the most awesome band-aid ever. I turned around and stared at him. He stared back. Not breaking away... I cleared my throat.

"So… have you seen Julia. Or Leahy for that matter?" I asked, biting my nails. Nervous bad habit, but I couldn't help it.

"Nah," was all he said. He was still staring at me. I turned back around and looked back in the mirror, running my fingers over the band-aid again. I needed something to do with my hands. Being in a room this small with Eric Halvorsen was too much to handle.

"Up for that re-match?" he asked, nodding towards the Xbox 360. I owed him one after I beat him last time we played. It was about a year ago, I was amazed he remembered.

"Are you going to whine like a pathetic baby when I beat you again?" I asked, sitting on the couch next to him.

"I would, if you were going to beat me. You see, I am but a mere band boy, as you put it. I have nothing to do all day except play video games. I have practiced," he replied, raising his eyebrows at me. My heart skipped a beat. Of course. I haven't played since then. I was out of practice.

"Uhhh, does it have to be Halo? I mean can't it be something else?" I suggested.

"Nope. Re-match," he replied, handing me a controller. We were playing online against people that were way better than we were. We were on the same team. I think. I couldn't really concentrate.

"Hey, are we red or are we blue?" I asked, respawning for what seemed like the millionth time only one minute into the game.

"Blue."

"So we kill red?" I asked.

"We are blue. Obviously we kill red." I could practically hear his eyes rolling.

I was so out of practice.

"Fuck Peyton! WHY?" he yelled after I accidently killed him.

"It was an accident!" I replied, dropping the controller and putting my hands in the air, trying to prove my innocence.

"You are going to pay for that," he said, setting his controller on the ground and grabbing my waist, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. I started beating on his back.

"Put me down, you…. bully!" I yelled.

"Bully? Who uses that word, other than kids on the playground?" he chuckled under his breath.

"Oh jeez Eric, I'm not feeling so well, I feel like I'm about to get sick, all over the back of your beautiful shirt. The plaid pattern is kind of making me feel… a little… dizzy…" I started fake heaving. He set me down as fast as he possibly could without dropping me on my ass.

"Pansy!" I yelled and started running to get away from him.

"Oh you are dead, Smith. DEAD!" he replied chasing after me. I laughed and grabbed pillows off of the couch, hurling them behind me, so that maybe I could slow him down. It didn't work. He cheated and hopped over the back of the couch, and grabbed me and knocked me down to the floor. I laughed and tried to keep my breathing under control. Or breathe at all, I suppose. I managed. Halvo was lying on top of me, just staring at me. He kissed his finger and slowly ran it over the top of my kick ass Ninja Turtles band-aid. My breath hitched, and I had to remind myself how to breathe all over again. I smiled up at him. He smiled back.

"ERIC JAMES HALVORSEN THE FIRST. Where the fuck are you buddy? It is SHOWTIME!" called Nick Santino, walking into the room. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to…" he trailed off, looking confused. Eric smiled and slowly stood up, offering his hand to help me up. I grabbed it and stood up, dusting off the back of my black skinny jeans.

"Let's do this shit!" Halvo fistpumped, and I laughed. He reached for my hand and held onto it, leading me to the stage. I let go of his hand and took my spot right next to the bass rack. He walked back to the rest of the guys, and they did their pre-show chant. Somehow, Julie showed up out of nowhere and scared me.

"So, how's it been?" she asked me, with an overly happy smile on her face. The boys of A Rocket to the Moon passed us, walking onto the stage. I kept my eyes on Halvo.

"Fucking fantastic," I replied, smiling

"Oh really? Same here," she replied. No kidding, I saw the huge smile plastered on her face.

"Who knew mouth breathers could be so sexy?" I said letting out a sigh. She laughed at me. Then I watched Eric Halvorsen do what he does best. Make my heart melt.

"How is everybody tonight?" Nick asked the crowd. Screams erupted through the room, shaking the walls. I was proud of A Rocket to the Moon. They had made it.

"Do you guys mind if we kick this off with a cover song?!" Nick asked into the microphone. The crowd screamed again, and I smiled. I loved this song. "How many of you have heard of Taylor Swift?" he asked, trying to tune his guitar to where he wanted it. The crowd went wild, and I rolled my eyes. Who hasn't heard of Taylor Swift, Nick? "Awesome. This is a song by my future wife, T-Sweezy, and I would love for you guys to help me out and sing as loud as you fucking possibly can! This song is called, "Forever and Always," he said, and they started to play the song.

The show was amazing! They have grown so much as a band since I saw them play on this very stage a long time ago. They closed with "If Only They Knew," which was an amazing song. It got a lot of energy from the crowd.

"Thank you…we are A Rocket to the Moon! We love you!" They all exited the stage, passing us.

"Great show!" Julie said to them as they passed.

"Thank you," they all said back as they passed. When Halvo passed, he smiled at me and kept walking. I blushed, of course. I smiled at Julie and then followed the boys. The Downtown Fiction was about to play. I loved them to death, but I'm sure Cameron would forgive me if I missed the first few songs. I followed the boys to the same room Eric and I were playing Halo in. Eric grabbed a towel and began toweling his wet hair dry. I smiled and grabbed the towel from his hands, snapping him on the butt with it and gave him a huge hug. I threw the towel back to him and high-fived the rest of the guys.

"You guys were amazing!" I smiled. They all smiled back and laughed.

"Thank you, Peyton!" most of them replied.

"Are the Brighten shows this packed with energy?" I asked Justin.

"No way! They have their own kind of energy, but nothing like this." He answered. I smiled. Brighten was one of my favorite bands, but I am ashamed to say, that I have yet to catch a show.

The boys began talking about who knows what, but whatever it was, it was like a foreign language to me. I could hear Cameron saying goodbye to the crowd. I missed their whole set. Shit. Hopefully I would be forgiven.

Soon they arrived in the same room that we all occupied. I watched them file in one by one, until I saw Cameron dragging someone behind him. That slut! I shot her a look, but she shot me one back. The kind of look that said, "We will talk about it later." I nodded.

"This was by far the best show we've ever played, so good job everyone!" Justin said. Some "yeah!"'s and "fuck yes!"'s were yelled.

"So…where's the after party? David asked. Everyone in the room slowly turned their heads toward Julie and me. She let out a long drawn out sigh.

"Our apartment?"

"Yes! Great! Good! I'll go get drinks," Halvo said.

"…Can I come with?" I asked. Please say yes, please say yes.

"I'd like that," he answered with a smile. I smiled back. Even better than yes. He would like that. This night was quickly climbing the charts to being the best night of my life. It may just bump the night in the van down a spot, and I am totally okay with that.


	6. Crash and Burn

You don't know how odd it felt to go back to my apartment with six boys following me.  
We entered and David, Nick, Eric, and Justin all headed to the fridge while Cameron, Andrew, and I sat in the living room area trying to find something to watch on the television.

" HBO Nighttime, fuck yeah!" Andrew yelled. "What's on….Oh, The Squirt Locker! " Cameron and I both simultaneously face-palmed and went into the kitchen with everyone else. They had emptied half the fridge.

"You all better put that stuff back when you're done," I said.

"But..you're the woman. Isn't cleaning your job?" David joked. I shot him a nasty look.

"_Please don't run away from me  
I don't want to find you lost in their eyes  
Please don't make a fool of me  
I don't want to find you lost in the light"_

I pulled my phone out of my pants pocket and looked at it. Peyton had texted me. I opened it up and read, " JUJUBEES, ERIC KISSED ME!!"

I smiled to myself and put my phone back in my pocket. I'm sure she would give me the deets later.  
After the boys had taken everything out of the fridge, Nick said, "Dude, you ain't got shit in here."

"I'm sorry that you're such a picky eater….now put it all back." I smiled at him and he stuck out his tongue at me. I sat down at the table and Cameron sat down beside me. He grabbed my hand, looked at me, and smiled. I melted every time I looked into his eyes. I smiled back at him.

"Woah, woah, woah, you two…dating?" David asked us.

"Yeah, we are," Cameron replied in a happy tone.

"Fuckin' finally," Eric mumbled. I let out a small chuckle. Cameron looked back at me, and let out a small sigh.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"I don't know…I'm just glad I finally have you," he said, lifting my hand and gently kissing it.

About ten minutes passed, and Eric and Peyton showed up with the drinks. The boys started playing beer pong in the kitchen, of course, and Peyton and I sat down on the couch. We were both sipping on a jager with red bull.

"Okay, before I spill my dirt, you tell me how you and Cameron happened," she demanded.

"Well, as soon as you left, he was like, 'Hey, I'm in love with you.'" I said.

"…That's all he said?"

"He reminded me of when we dated in the 7th grade, then said he wishes we never broken up, and that he's been in love with me for a long time."

"Oh wow..then what?"

"Well, I headed back here because I was kind of like, 'Oh shit. What the fuck just happened?' But eventually Cameron came here to check on me, and I told him I loved him. So now we're dating." I smiled at her. It felt good to say that. "Now…Halvo kissed you? " She flashed me the biggest grin I've ever seen.

"Yeah… What happened was he was driving, and every time we'd pass a person or an animal, I'd roll down my window and yell 'AY BAY BAY'. He eventually locked my window, and I was all fake-sad. But when we got to the alcohol store, he looked at me and said something like, 'You're adorable, you know that?', and of course I kinda jizzed, but I just looked at him and smiled. And he leaned forward and just kissed me. And it was like, 10 seconds. I counted."

"After all these years…we both finally got what we wanted, eh?"

"Well, sort of. You got your man. I don't fully have mine yet," she said, looking into the kitchen. "I think I'm going to go watch them, if that's alright with you."

"Yeah, sure," I replied. I didn't really hear what she said. I finished my drink, and by this point, I was a little buzzed, but it wasn't bad. I heard footsteps come into the living room, and then Cameron sat down beside me.

"Hey beautiful, I brought you another drink if you wanted it."

"Thanks," I said, taking it from him. I took a sip. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yeah...The Party Hardy, ha-ha," he replied. "I remember you used to love these when I made them in high-school."

"But I used to get so drunk off of them. That's why you haven't made one since then," I stated, taking another swig.

"Well, I thought tonight called for it. It's a special occasion," he said.

"True." I took another gulp. Then I just guzzled the whole thing.

About five minutes went by, and everyone was still in the kitchen but Cameron and I. We were playing a game of charades. It was my turn, and I was trying to impersonate a chicken, but I somehow ended up on the floor moving around like I was an inch worm.

"Okay, you're…you're a worm," Cameron guessed

"Noooooooooooooo," I said. I was completely out of it.

"Okay, I think you need to go to bed." He picked me off the floor and held me in his arms bridal style. He escorted me into my room. He plopped me down on my bed. I slowly laid myself down.

"Shut..door?" I said to him. He did as I asked. He sat down beside me and started running his fingers through my hair.

"If I knew you'd get this bad, I wouldn't of made you the drink," he mumbled.

"I'm not….that….bad!," I said to him.

"If you say so." He kept running his fingers through my hair. He looked into my eyes. Those eyes…  
I put my hand behind his head and pulled him in for a kiss. I grabbed his shirt and pulled it off his head. He backed up for a second. "Julia, you're drunk…are you sure you're okay with this?" He asked me.

"I'm..not drunk. I want to make love," I whispered to him and pulled him back down into another kiss. He slowly removed my shirt and started kissing my chest. I tilted my head back and let out a soft moan.

Cameron Leahy and I had sex, to put it bluntly.

The next morning, I woke up with a huge headache. I also woke up next to an empty bed. I entered my living room, and it looked like a hurricane had blown through there. The place was trashed. It didn't help that Nick was passed out naked on the floor, although he did have a cup on his dick. Somehow the coffee table got turned upside down, and he fell asleep in it. For some reason, Justin and David were covered in toilet paper. I'm sure this was Nick's doing. I stepped over them and made my way into the kitchen. Eric and Peyton were sleeping..on the kitchen table. I studied Peyton's face to see that she had a penis drawn on her cheek, entering her mouth. I smiled and let out a soft sign. I grabbed some advil and some water and went into the bathroom to find Eric sleeping in the tub. He was using Nick's clothes as a pillow. I chucked, took the advil, and went back to my room. I checked my phone, but I didn't have anything new. I picked it up and dialed Cameron's number.

"Uh, good morning," he said. I could tell something was up.

"Morning. Why did I wake up with no one beside me?" I asked him.

"I'm at the bus. I'm packing up my shit so I can leave and go back to Virginia."

"Okay, what's your deal?"

He let out a sigh. "Will you just come here so we can talk?"

We finished that conversation. I kept my PJs on, grabbed the keys to the car, and left for where the bus was, which was still at Randy Joe's.

I entered to bus to see Cameron hurriedly cleaning up. He saw me, put down whatever he was holding, and sat down. I sat beside him.

"So…what's up with you exactly?" I asked him.

He kept his eyes on the ground. "I feel like what we did last night was a mistake."

"A mistake? Why?"

"Because.." His eyes met mine. "I feel like I took advantage of you because you were drunk. That wasn't right of me."

"I told you that I wanted it. You didn't do anything wrong," I said to him. I felt like I was about to cry.

"Julia, you don't know what you were saying!" he raised his voice.

"I know damn well what I was saying, Cameron!"

"No, no you don't. Julia, I can't do this right now," he said, standing up.

I stood up, too. I headed for the exit. "Whatever, Cameron. Come see me when you decide to stop being like this." I went out the door and slammed it behind me.

I drove to a park that was nearby I stayed in the car for about twenty minutes crying before I exited my car.I walked around the place, just thinking.

_Did I really know what I was saying?  
Was us dating ruining everything?  
Will he see me before he leaves for home?  
Can we still be friends?  
Do I still love him?....yeah..  
_  
I walked around for about ten more minutes before I decided to head back to head back to the apartment. Maybe the company of my closest friends would make me feel better, even though I just lost my best one… 


	7. Practice Makes Perfect

A/N Hey guys! Thank you for reading the story. I know it is still a little slow, but the next chapter picks it up a little bit. Reviews are always welcome, good and bad. =] -ab.

"No." Eric stated, watching the road as he drove Julia's car swiftly through the Arizona streets.

"Oh come on. You know NSYNC is essential to any and everybody's music collection." I replied, drumming my fingers on the dashboard along with "Bye Bye Bye."

"Only lame people listen to NSYNC," he shot back.

"Kennedy Brock is lame? I know for a fact he likes them!" I smiled back. He knew I had a point.

"Okay… One. You don't even know Kennedy Brock. Two. Stop stalking all of my friends on Youtube," he laughed and I smiled back. Alright, he had me.

"What? I'm not like… a creeper or anything, I just like The Maine," I shrugged, looking out of the window.

"If you say so," he said, reaching for my iPod. His hand brushed mine, and my skin tingled. I blushed. Thank god it was dark outside. He hit the next button and "I Would Walk 500 Miles" by The Proclaimers blasted through the speakers.

"Fuck yes!" he screamed. We jammed out, because no matter what anybody says, this song is epic. I rolled down the window as we were passing a few kids riding their bikes down the sidewalk.

"Ay Bay Bay!" I screamed at them. Halvo laughed at my stupidity. I left the window down, enjoying the way the wind felt blowing against my face. My hair was going everywhere, but I didn't care. I was singing along with the song, with the boy I liked, driving around my home town. We passed a field of cows and I screamed random noises out of my window. A few cows looked at me, and I laughed. I love yelling out of the window, it made me feel free in a way that I can't really explain. Some kids were coming up on the right. Oh boy!

"AY BAY BAY!" I yelled at them, giggling. I looked over at Halvo, and he smiled, but I saw what he was doing. He rolled the window up and locked it, sticking his tongue out at me in the process.

"Uncalled for, buddy." I clucked my tongue at him. "Uncalled for." I crossed my arms and leaned back in my seat, faking disappointment. The liquor store came into view just as the song ended. Eric parked and unbuckled his seatbelt reaching for the door handle when "This Providence" suddenly filled the car. I smiled. I loved this song.

"I love this song" Halvo said with a smile. He sat back and rested his head against the headrest. The song was called, "My Beautiful Rescue," and it was one of my favorites. He looked over at me, and god knows, I was already looking at him.

"You're adorable, you know that?" he asked. I smiled. The next thing I knew, I felt Eric James Halvorsen's lips on mine, and I closed my eyes. All I could think to do was count. 1 Mississippi. 2 Mississippi. 3 Mississippi…… 10 Mississippi. He slowly pulled away and I opened my eyes, to find him searching my face. I probably looked like an idiot, because I think I was smiling the biggest smile I have ever smiled in my life. He chuckled and nodded towards the liquor store.

"We shouldn't keep everyone waiting," he stated, opening the car door. I did the same and got out of the car. I walked over to his side of the car and boldly grabbed his hand and laced our fingers. He led us into "Tooties Package Store" and grabbed a hand basket.

"Do we really need that?" I asked, looking down at the hand basket. "How much are we getting?"

"Have you ever partied with bands?" he asked. I couldn't say that I had.

"Uh, no." I replied, looking at all of the weird liquor bottles.

"What to get?" he asked, more to himself than to me.

"Just grab stuff. I'm sure people will drink whatever. I only have one request."

"What's that?" he asked, grabbing random bottles of stuff.

"I need Jager," I said, walking further down the aisle, grabbing the green bottle off of the shelf.

"Jager? Girls drink Jager? I thought girls drank like, Smirnoff and wine coolers," he stated.

"Were you there for our conversation earlier when I said that I could outdrink you? I am a man." I placed the bottle in the basket, and flexed my arms for emphasis.

"Look at those epic guns!" he laughed, gently squeezing one of my non-existent muscles.

"Careful buddy, don't hurt your hand," I joked, backing away slowly.

"Promise me something before I buy you Jager," he said, pushing all of the joking aside. "Promise me that you won't get wasted and pass out tonight." I rolled my eyes.

"I promise." I sighed. "So… how are we paying for all of this?" I asked as I looked into the full basket, trying to change the subject.

"There's a strip club next door. It's probably amateur night. I'm sure there are spots open." he said, in a serious tone.

"Uhhh," was all I could manage to say. He chuckled. We placed the basket on the counter as the clerk started ringing up our purchases. I seized the opportunity to send a quick text to Julia, telling her my news. I finished and looked up Eric. "Seriously though, how?"

"Tonight's fun is brought to you by the generous people at FueledbyRamen," he announced, pulling out a credit card from his wallet, along with his ID and handed them to man behind the counter. Three. Hundred. Dollars. $300 in alcohol. This was going to be one epic party.

We arrived back at the apartment a few minutes later. Eric busted through the door carrying the bags of alcohol and cheers erupted from the guys. For the moment, he was their hero. They went straight into the kitchen and started mixing drinks. I grabbed two red solo cups from the stack and a sharpie. I wrote "Peyton" on one and "Cocksucker" on the other. I handed the "Cocksucker" cup to Halvo, and he read it.

"Perfect!" he yelled, startling Andrew, who was mixing a drink directly behind him. I opened the bottle of Jager and poured some in my cup. I went to the refrigerator and grabbed a Red Bull, pouring it into my cup, getting the proportions perfect.

"Do you need a shotglass to measure?" Halvo asked, watching me.

"Nope. Practice makes perfect, buddy." I replied. He shook his head and went back to pouring his drink.

"Do you want me to make you a drink Julia?!" I yelled from the kitchen, hoping my voice carried all the way into the living. Of course it did. I am fucking loud.

"Yes!" she yelled back. I grabbed another cup and wrote "Jooliahh Gooliahh" on it. I mixed her the same drink that I was drinking and carried it into the living room, handing it to her. I fell back onto the couch and looked at her. She was smiling.

"Okay, before I spill my dirt, you tell me why you and Cameron were holding hands," I full on demanded.

"Well, as soon as you left, he was like, 'Hey, I'm in love with you.'" she said.

"…That's all he said?"

"He reminded me of when we dated in the 7th grade, then said he wishes we never broken up, and that he's been in love with me for a long time." Awwww!

"Oh wow..then what?"

"Well, I headed back here because I was kind of like, 'Oh shit. What the fuck just happened?' But eventually Cameron came here to check on me, and I told him I loved him. So now we're dating." I smiled at her. It felt good to say that. "Now…Halvo kissed you? " I couldn't hold back a grin.

"Yeah… What happened was he was driving, and every time we'd pass a person or an animal, I'd roll down my window and yell 'AY BAY BAY'. He eventually locked my window, and I was all fake-sad. But when we got to the alcohol store, he looked at me and said something like, 'You're adorable, you know that?', and of course I kinda jizzed, but I just looked at him and smiled. And he leaned forward and just kissed me. And it was like, 10 seconds. I counted."

"After all these years…we both finally got what we wanted, eh?"

"Well, sort of. You got your man. I don't fully have mine yet," I said, looking into the kitchen. "I think I'm going to go watch them, if that's alright with you."

"Yeah, sure," she answered. I got up and walked into the kitchen and wrapped my arm around Halvo's lower back. "Who's winning?" I asked.

"Me!" Nick said, throwing his hands in the air.

"Does anyone really lose in this game?" I asked. "I mean, you get drunk. I'd call that a win either way," I stated, walking to the counter to make another drink. I could feel Halvo's eyes watching me. I didn't have to turn around, I already knew. Worrying was only cute to an extent. Nick agreed with my "everybody wins" comment, but was soon jumping around the kitchen screaming, "SUCK MY DICK HALVO!" He made the suck it motion with his hands, and ran out of the kitchen. I guess he won.

"Wanna play?" I asked, walking back to the table. He scratched the back of his head, thinking about it for a moment.

"I guess so," he half-smiled.

"Great. Don't sound so excited." I went and grabbed all new cups for me, and started pouring Jager and Red Bull into them.

"What are you doing? It's called BEER Pong," he said, putting emphasis on the word "beer."

"Have you ever tasted beer? The shit's straight up NASTY," I responded, finishing pouring my drinks.

"If you say so," he smiled. "I'll go first," he stated, throwing the ball. It missed my cups by a good foot and half.

"Fegget!"

"Shut up and throw, Pey" he said, rolling his eyes. I rang the first cup, and he downed the beer. He threw the ball and missed again.

"Fail." I rang another of his cups, and he downed that cup too. He threw the ball and missed for the third time in a row.

"Are you throwing the game so I don't drink a lot?" I asked, catching on.

"No." he lied.

"Strip beer pong." I said.

"W-what?" his eyes grew five times in size.

"You make it, I lose clothes," I said, talking slowly so he could feel stupid.

"No. There's 6 other guys here…" he sighed, shaking his head.

"So? At the rate you're going, I will still be fully clothed by the end of this game." I said, throwing the ball and making another cup.

"Shirt. Off." I demanded. I didn't think he would do it, but he did. Justin walked in and whistled at Halvo. Halvo picked up the ball and rang one of my cups. I downed it and waited to hear which article of clothing I would be losing.

"Take off… your shoes," he mumbled.

"Boring," I fake-yawned, but did as I was told, sliding off my purple vans. I rang another cup, and he fake pouted.

"Is this another 'practice makes perfect' activity?" he asked.

"More or less. Pants off." He did as he was told. "Oh boy Halvo! You really don't have a single hair on your body," I laughed. He threw the ball and it landed in one of my cups.

"Alright, since you are being an ass, lose the shirt." I did. He only had one cup left. "Here I will spare you the trouble," he laughed, grabbing the cup and throwing it back. "Do I have to take off my undies?" his voice squeaked a little.

"Nah. I wouldn't subject all of these innocent eyes to that. As a matter of fact, put all of your clothes back on" I joked. To my dismay, he did. I grabbed a few of my "beer" pong cups and combined them into two cups. I passed one of the cups to Nick, who was walking past the kitchen.

"Thanks" he mumbled, looking me up and down.

"Get out of here, pervert!" Eric yelled. I blushed and threw my shirt back on. I downed my drink and layed down on the table. Eric joined me.

"I'm buzzed." Obviously.

"Me too." He replied, grabbing my hand. "Ouch" he reached under his back with his other hand and pulled out the sharpie he was laying on. He let go of my hand for a moment, uncapped the sharpie, and grabbed my hand again.

"Tattoo time! What do you want?" he slurred.

"I want… I want a walrus. Eating ice cream," I said, looking over at him.

"A walrus eating ice cream. Hmmm…" he said, concentrating on drawing the tattoo on my wrist. It tickled a little, and I giggled. I closed my eyes. I was asleep before he was even done.


	8. When the Morning Comes

I returned home to find that my place was not as trashed as it was earlier that morning, but it still needed some work done. Everyone was up, it seemed like, and it looks like they were all getting ready to leave. I saw Peyton on the couch and I sat down beside her

"How was it last night?" I asked her. The penis wasn't on her face anymore.

"I don't fucking know," she bluntly replied. I chuckled and directed my attention to Halvo, who was exiting the bathroom.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but someone left a huge healthy helping of chicken and dumpies in the toilet. It's backed up." Peyton and I both let out a sigh.

"We don't even have plunger!" Peyton cried. Then suddenly, the smell hit us like a cloud of impending doom. "JESUS CHRIST," everyone screamed.

"Who the fuck took a fucking vacation to New York Shitty?" I yelled.

"Sorry!" Nick replied, fleeing out the apartment. Everyone else ran out too, leaving Peyton and I to die.

"We need to go to Home Depot and get a heavy duty plunger," she mumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go now before we fucking suffocate."

We arrived at Home Depot and searched out where their finest plungers would be.

"**Dickow Pump Company's Super Heavy Duty Toilet Plunger," Peyton read out. **

"**How much is it?" I asked her.**

"**..Does it matter? Nick left a huge heap of chicken enshitladas at home and you're worring about price," she said.**

"…**Good point. Grab it." We started walking towards the cash register. We both looked over to where they had the toilets to notice some lanky white guy sitting on one of them. He kept moving his ass around like he was trying to get comfortable.**

"**What kind of white trash tests the feel of the toilet before they buy it?" Peyton said.**

**I let out a laugh. "That guy."**

**We looked away and started walking again when we heard being yelled out, "Peyton? Julia?  
We both turned on our heels to look behind us. **

"**..John O'Callaghan?" we both said in unison. How the shit did John O'Callaghan from The Maine know who we were?**

"**Yeah, that's me. How are you two doing?" he asked us. …What the hell's going on?**

"**We're…alright…but…uh…how do you know us?" I asked. **

"**Uh..I was at your party last night," he said. "Nick invited me."**

"**WHAT!" Peyton and I yelled in unison. **

"**Yeah..I mean, I talked to you Peyton. About the history of fudge rounds."**

"**I don't..even remember. When was this?" she asked.  
**

**It was really late at night. I'm not sure." He pointed looked at me. "You…ha…I saw you in your bedroom with Mr. Cameron Leahy." My heart sank. Peyton looked at me. "JuJu…what did you do?" she asked. I hadn't told her about anything that happened yet.**

" **We, uh..we-"**

"**They were bonin'!" John yelled out. I put my hand over my face and let out a sigh. "I was getting there." I looked at Peyton and her eyes were widened. "..But enough about us. Why were you testing out a toilet?"**

"**I needed a new one?"**

**Peyton chuckled. "Why?"**

**He waited a second before he answered. Then, all three of us in unison said, "Nick." We all let out a huge laugh.**

"**Yeah.. he decided to visit the Great Island of Hanapoopoo and fuckin' destroy my toilet. He knows I hate Runs-N-Roses, but he does it at my house anyways," John said.**

"**That's what happened to ours…but we didn't need a new toilet," Peyton said.**

**John looked down. "Ours was un-plungable."  
**  
We spent about thirty minutes talking to John Ohhh, and we invited him and the rest of The Maine to apartment to chill. He said that he'd grab the boys and meet us down there in thirty minutes.  
While waiting for everyone to show up, we called Nick Santino and told him to come over because it was an emergency, and of course he showed up about five minutes after we called.

He busted open the door. "WHERE'S THE FUCKIN' FIRE?"

Peyton threw him the plunger. "In the toilet. Now go unclog it."

He made a disgusted face. "Hell no, I'm not doin' that!" 

You clogged it, you unclog it. And pay for the damn plunger. It was only nine bucks," I told him.  
He let out a very heavy sign and started walking to the bathroom. "Fiiiiiiiiine." Great success.

After about ten minutes of watching Nick unclog the toilet, he paid us back and went home. Peyton sprayed some Lysol so some of the stank would go away before the boys from The Maine came over.  
I was in the kitchen making macaroni and cheese, because being boys, I'm sure they'd want food.

"YO YO, DAVID'S TEXTING YOU!  
HEY, I SAID IM TEXTING YOU!  
READ MY TE-"

I'm sure you know who texted me. I took my phone out of my pocket and read, "On flight back home, sorry we didn't get to say goodbye. We'll be back in no time!" I gave half a smile and put my phone back in my pocket. At least someone decided to tell me what was going on..

-KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK-

"I'll get it!" Peyton yelled from the living room. I heard the door open.

"Hi guys!" Peyton said. Multiple hi's were said, and then a swarm of five boys and Peyton entered the kitchen.

"In the kitchen…where the woman should be," John said. I picked up a nearby spoon and threw it at him. He ducked and instead, it hit Jared in the face.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, I meant to hit John," I stated.

"I know, it's cool," he replied, rubbing the spot where he got hit.

"Everyone, this is Julia, the one Cameron was doin'," John introduced. I let out a heavy sigh and finished up the all got a bowl and sat in the living room.

" So..you're dating Leahy, eh?" Kennedy said to me.

"Well….I don't really think so anymore," I replied. Peyton looked at me shocked.

"You were dating for like, a day, and you're already over?"

"Long story," I replied. "And really, it was his decision."

"Explain?" John asked.

"I…uhm.." I didn't really want to get into this right now. I was about to cry, and I didn't want to do that with The Maine in my living room.

"Let's talk about something else guys," Pat said, looking at me and smiling. I gave a soft smile back.  
"Yeah, like Peyton and Halvo," said Garrett. The rest of The Maine boys busted into "oooo's".  
"Real mature, guys," Peyton stated. "I don't know..we like each other. That's all there is."

"What's wrong John? Your face is sad," Pat pointed out. I looked at him, and he was right. He looked down.

"Nothing, nothing," he mumbled.

"It's something, dude," Jared said.

"I …a…Peyton," he murmured. I don't think anyone understood him.

"Uh..I what?" Peyton asked.

"I have a crush on Peyton. Okay? Thanks," he said, walking out of the apartment, with a bowl of macaroni in his hand.

"Uh..I'll…handle this," Peyton said gently, leaving after him.

"Well…that was unexpected," I said. "So..who wants to play Taboo?"

After an intense game of Taboo which Pat and I won over Kennedy, Jared, and Garrett, the boys decided it was time to leave to check up on John. Everyone but Pat, that is. He stayed and helped me clean up the kitchen.

"You didn't have to help, you know," I said to him. He was a sweetheart.

"I know. I wanted to," he replied with a smile.

"Oh, and earlier when John wanted me to talk about Cameron…thank you."

"It was nothing..I could tell by the look in your eyes that you really weren't up to talking about it."

"Yeah…uh, is it okay if I talk to you about it?" I had this comfortable feeling when I was around Pat. I felt like I could talk to him about this and he would really try to help.

"Yeah, let's sit down," he replied. I joined him at the kitchen table. I put my hands on the table, and he grabbed them. I felt a tingle go up my spine.

"Well…at the party, I had a few drinks and I was messed up. But when Cameron took me into my room, it's like, I felt completely sober. It was odd," I looked at our hands. He was rubbing them with his thumbs. It was so comforting…I continued.

"He asked me if I was sure about what I was doing, and I said yes. So we did it. And then this morning..this morning…" Tears started rolling down my face. He took his thumbs and wipe my cheeks, then placed his hands back on mine.  
"He said it was a mistake, and that I didn't know what I was talking about..I told him to call me when he knew what he was talking about.."

"No call?" he asked. I sighed and looked up at him.

"No." He pulled me in for a hug, and I cried on his shoulder. He kept rubbing my back with his hands. "He doesn't know what he's missing..."


	9. We Are Birds

A/N Thanks for reading! This chapter is obviously for comedic relief haha.

My mouth felt like cotton. Water was the only thing on my mind. What the fuck was going on? I opened my eyes and saw Halvo's arm wrapped around me, he was breathing on my neck. I smiled and up a tiny bit. His eyes shot open. He blinked a few times before his eyes finally focused on me. He started laughing hysterically, so hard that he fell off of the table. We slept on a table?

"What?!" I asked, only imagining what I looked like right now.

"Your FACE" he gasped between laughs. I rolled my eyes.

"I can't help my face, asshole." I yawned and jumped off of the table. I fixed myself a glass of water and started to chug it when I caught my reflection in the microwave. I had a giant dick on my face. In sharpie.

"DID YOU DO THIS?" I yelled in his general direction.

"NO! I DID!" Nick yelled, high-fiving Halvo on his way into the kitchen, naked.

"WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?" I screamed.

"I don't know!"he replied, not moving the solo cup from over his junk.

"FIND THEM!" I yelled back.

"I'm just gonna… go… use the facilities, and try to find my clothes…" he said, slowly backing out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, you do that" I said grabbing a washcloth from the laundry room. I scrubbed at the side of my face with the rag for forever.

"Here," Halvo cut in, and grabbed the rag, taking over. He gently wiped at my face until any trace of the phallus was gone.

"Penis free Peyton," he said. "I'm going to start calling you PFP," he said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"Gay," I chuckled. "PFP sounds like either a drug or a band. If A Rocket to the Moon breaks up, promise me you will name your next band PFP. Like, Pumpkin Free Paul or something."

"Deal. That sounds like an epic band name," he stated, leaning down and kissing me softly. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer and deepened the kiss.

"Ugh, it is way too early in the morning to see that," Andrew stated, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a glass of water. We pulled away from each other smiling.

"Aww my tattoo!" I smiled looking down at my wrist. "It's so cute."

"Damn straight!" he replied, looking down at his handy work. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him, burying my head in his neck.

"You guys are nauseating," Andrew stated, exiting the kitchen. I giggled and grabbed a few trash bags from under the sink. I handed one to Halvo. "Get busy, buddy!" I cheerfully told him. He groaned.

"I didn't even make the mess. This has Nick written all over it!" he sighed, but started picking up rolls of toilet paper.

"Did Nick TP my apartment?" I said, walking into the living room for the first time since last night.

"Yes. He TP'd Justin and me," David said, standing up, picking up toilet paper off of the floor and shoving it into Halvo's trash bag.

"Wow…" was all I could manage to say. Where was the fucker anyways? We were all out here cleaning up his mess, and where was he? I sat down on the couch, taking a short break.

"Don't worry about it guys. I'm too tired to deal with all of this right now. I'll pick it up later." I sighed, closing my eyes.

"Be right back," Halvo announced walking down the hallway. The front door opened and Julie walked in and sat down next to me. Where did she go?

"How was it last night?" she asked me.

"I don't fucking know." We both looked at Halvo, who was exiting the bathroom.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but someone left a huge healthy helping of chicken and dumpies in the toilet. It's backed up." Jules and I both let out a sigh.

"We don't even have a plunger!" I cried. As soon as that escaped my lips, the smell smacked us all in the face.

"JESUS CHRIST," everyone screamed.

"Who the fuck took a fucking vacation to New York Shitty?" Julie yelled.

"Sorry!" Nick replied, fleeing the scene. Obviously he found his clothes. Everyone else ran out too. Halvo did the "call me" gesture and bolted out of the door. They all left us to die.

"We need to go to Home Depot and get a heavy duty plunger," I mumbled. Ughhh.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go now before we fucking suffocate." 

We arrived at Home Depot and looked for the heavy duty plungers.

"**Dickow Pump Company's Super Heavy Duty Toilet Plunger," I read out loud.**

"**How much is it?" she asked.**

"**..Does it matter? Nick left a huge heap of chicken enshitladas at home and you're worring about price," I pointed out. I would give him the receipt, and the jerk was going to pay me back!**

"**Good point. Grab it." FML. I was walking around Home Depot carrying a plunger. A really big, ugly black plunger.  
**

**We started walking towards the cash register. We both looked over to where they had the toilet display and noticed some guy testing out the merchandise. He kept moving his ass around like he was trying to get comfortable.  
**

"**What kind of white trash tests the feel of the toilet before they buy it?" I said, trying to hold in a laugh.**

**She laughed and replied, "That guy."**

**We looked away and started walking again. All of a sudden we heard our names being yelled out from the very direction of the toilet tester.**

"**..John O'Callaghan?" we both said in unison. He was the white trash toilet tester? What was happening here? How did he know us?**

"**Yeah, that's me. How are you two doing?" he asked us.**

"**We're… alright… but… uh… how do you know us?" Jules struggled to get out.**

"**Uh.. I was at your party last night," he said. "Nick invited me."**

"**WHAT!?" we yelled in unison.**

"**Yeah.. I mean, I talked to you Peyton. About the history of Fudge Rounds." Interesting… we talked about Fudge Rounds. John Ohh and I talked about Fudge Rounds? What is my life? **

"**I don't even remember. When was this?**" **I asked.**

"**It was really late at night. I'm not sure." He pointed, looking at Jules. "You… ha… I saw you in your bedroom with Mr. Cameron Leahy." I looked at Julie. **

"**JuJu… what did you do?"**

"**We, uh.. we-"**

"**The were bonin'!" John yelled out. **

"**I was getting there," she sighed. I'm sure my eyes were about to pop out of my head. **

"**..But enough about us. Why were you testing out a toilet?" she asked, obviously trying to change the subject. Oh, this wasn't over!**

"**I need a new one?" he answered, like it was the most obvious reason in the world. Well. It kind of was. **

"**Why?" I chuckled. He waited a second before he answered. Then, all three of us in unison said, "Nick!" We all let out a huge laugh.**

"**Yeah, he decided to visit the Great Island of Hanapoopoo and fuckin' destroy my toilet. He knows I hate Runs-N-Roses, but he does it at my house anyway," John said, with a sigh. Hanapoopoo, Runs-N-Roses, oh god. Genius. I like this kid. His sense of humor was right down our alley. For real, Julia and I had warped senses of humor.**

"**That's what happened to ours, but we didn't need a new toilet" I replied, feeling bad for John Ohh. **

"**Ours was un-plungable," he said, sounding sad, looking to the floor. I laughed to myself and couldn't help but stare at John. He was beautiful. I'd seen pictures of him and everything, but nothing compared to him up close.**

We spent about thirty minutes talking to John Ohhh, and we invited him and the rest of The Maine to apartment to chill. He said that he'd grab the boys and meet us down there in about thirty minutes. While waiting for everyone to show up, we called Nick Santino and told him to come over because it was an emergency, and of course he showed up about five minutes after we called.

He busted the door open. "WHERE'S THE FUCKIN' FIRE?"

I threw him the plunger. "In the toilet. Now go unclog it."

He made a disgusted face. "Hell no, I'm not doin' that!"

"You clogged it, you unclog it. And pay for the damn plunger. It was only nine bucks," Julie told him.  
He let out a very heavy sign and started walking to the bathroom.

"Fiiiiiiiiine," he called out. Mission accomplished.

We watched Nick skillfully unclog the toilet. I guess he's been doing it his whole life. I felt sorry for the girl he ended up with. He paid us back and went home. I sprayed some Lysol to try to make our apartment smell even remotely normal before John came over. I mean, the Maine came over. Jules was in the kitchen making macaroni and cheese. Velveta shells and cheese is love. Food of the Gods. Soon enough, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" I yelled, taking a deep breath before I opened the door. "Hi guys!" I greeted. They all muttered their hello's, and John introduced everybody to me. We all walked into the kitchen to go see Julia.

"In the kitchen, where the woman should be," John said. Jules picked up a spoon and threw it at him. He ducked and it hit the poor ginger in the face. Awww, poor Jared.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, I meant to hit John," she stated. I giggled under my breath, and John looked over at me and winked. Oh shit.

"I know, it's cool," he replied, rubbing spot where he got hit. Gotta love Jared, he was so easy going. Or at least he seemed that way on Youtube.

"Everyone, this is Julia, the one Cameron was doin'" John introduced. She let out a heavy sigh and finished up the macaroni. I tried not to giggle. Way to make her uncomfortable John O'Callaghan, way to go. We all grabbed a bowl and scooped up some mac-n-cheese and headed to the living room. 

"So, you're dating Leahy, eh?" Kennedy asked.

"Well, I don't really think so anymore," she answered. I looked at her, a shocked face in place.

"You were dating for like, a day, and you're already over?"

"Long story," she replied. "And really, it was his decision."

"Explain," John piped in.

"I.. um," she stammered. She looked like she was about to shed a few tears pretty soon.

"Let's talk about something else guys," Pat stated, looking at Julie and smiling. She returned one. Oh god.

"Yeah, like Peyton and Halvo," said Garrett. How did he know? The rest of The Maine simultaneously busted into "Oooo's."

"Real mature, guys," I stated, rolling my eyes. "I don't know. We like each other. That's all there is."

"What's wrong John?" Your face is sad," Pat pointed out. Everyone looked at John, and Pat was right. He looked like someone killed his goldfish.

"Nothing, nothing," he mumbled.

"It's something, dude," Jared said.

"I…a…Peyton," he murmured so low nobody could hear him.

"Uh, I what?" I asked.

"I have a crush on Peyton, okay? Thanks," he said, walking out of the apartment, mac-and-cheese in hand. My heart stopped.

"Uh, I'll handle this," I said, running after him. I closed the apartment door behind me and walked into the summer air. I had no idea which way he went, but I would eventually find him. I started walking down the road, repeating what he had said over and over in my head. A crush. John Cornelius O'Callaghan had a crush on me. That must have been some interesting conversation about Fudge Rounds. I didn't even remember talking to him that night at all. I remember falling asleep on the table with Halvo. I guess I woke up sometime later. Then the realization hit me. Halvo. What about Eric? Last night was the best night of my life. How I felt about him wasn't going to change because some 6 foot something gorgeous boy with the most amazing crooked smile came into the picture, even if just the simple act of him winking at me had me weak in the knees. Especially if that boy was Halvo's best friend. Then I spotted him, in all of his gorgeous glory sitting on a swing on the playground, eating his macaroni. Everything I had just been thinking about flew right out of my head. I sat on the swing next to him, not saying anything. We sat in a comfortable silence. I didn't want to make him feel any more awkward than he already did.

"I uh…" he finally croaked out.

"Shhh," I said, not wanting him to make the situation anymore awkward. He just looked at me. "Push me." I demanded simply. He smiled, and set his now empty bowl on the ground. He walked behind me, and the wind started blowing a slight breeze. His scent blew into my nostrils and I closed my eyes, trying to remember everything about this moment. As much as I didn't want to admit it, it felt amazing to be here with John right now. I felt his hands gently push against my lower back and I started to swing. I smiled, feeling free. I haven't been on a swing in years. I held my arms out to my side, loving the feeling of flying. I heard John chuckle. Then I heard him singing under his breath. I strained to try to hear what he was singing. I placed my feet on the ground, trying to slow down a little bit when I heard it.

"If you're a bird, then I'm a bird. But if you can't fly then neither will I…" he lightly sang "We are birds" by Brighten. I dug my heels into the dirt completely coming to a stop and looking back at him. That voice. That song. I stood up and slowly walked the few steps to stand directly in front of him. He had stopped singing and just looked at me. He looked down at the ground awkwardly and then looked into my eyes.

"Look Peyton, I know I hardly know you, and I know you have Halvo, but I just…" he sighed and trailed off as my phone started ringing.

"I'm falling more in love.  
With every single word I withhold.  
I'm falling more in love.  
With every single word you say.  
I'm falling head-over-heels for you"

I knew exactly who that was, I set it this morning. Halvo was calling me. Shit. I ignored it, and waited for him to continue.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" he asked, nodding towards the ringing coming from the pocket of my jeans.

"No. I'm here with you right now; whoever is calling me can wait. My phone is for my convenience." I shrugged. He smiled and nodded. My phone beeped, indicating I had a voicemail. Awesome, I would definitely check that later. "Now what were you saying?"

"Oh. Fuck, I don't remember," he said drawing patterns in the dirt with his foot. I wasn't going to push this. I don't know what I wanted him to say. I had waited years to have a shot with Eric Halvorsen. I didn't want anything to come between…

My thoughts trailed off as John looked at me and smiled that famous crooked smile. I swear to god, my mind went blank. I could feel my face heat up as a blush slowly settled on my face. I looked away. John put his hand under my chin and turned my face towards his.

"You're adorable when you blush," he stated simply. I felt the blush getting deeper. "You're just plain adorable," he stated. I smiled. What is it with guys and the word adorable? I looked from his eyes down to his mouth and then back up again. In that moment, nothing else in the world mattered. This was what I wanted. He licked his lips slowly, and I knew what was going to happen next. I closed my eyes slowly, loving the feel of his breath softly hitting my face.

My phone started ringing again. I opened my eyes and sighed, reaching for my back pocket. I stared at it.

"Answer it" he nodded towards the phone, going to sit on the swing. Ugh Halvo. Never in my life had I thought I would ever not want Eric Halvorsen to call me. I hit the "Accept" button.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound excited, but failing miserably.

"Hey Peyton, are you okay?" the deep voice rushed through the speaker, filling my ear. Guilt washed over me as soon as I heard his voice. What was I thinking? I suddenly felt horrible for almost kissing his best friend.

"I'm great. How are you doing?" I asked, trying to sound a little happier.

"I'm perfect. What are you doing right this very second?" he asked.

"Swinging." I answered.

"I'm on my way over to pick you up, is that okay?" he asked, suddenly sounding self conscious.

"Oh yeah, that's fine. Come on over." I replied.

"Good, because I'm almost there." He chuckled.

"See you soon!" I cheerfully replied and hung up the phone. John was looking at the ground. He obviously overheard the conversation.

"We should head back, we have quite a walk" I stated, pointing back towards the apartment.

"Right… we wouldn't want to keep Halvo waiting," he sighed. I felt like a horrible person.

"Well, we left Julie with four guys." I shrugged, not that I imagine she minded. John picked up the bowl and started walking back towards the apartment. I fell into step with him, and we walked in silence for a few minutes. Just then a car pulled up next to us and honked. We jumped and turned around, and I smiled when I saw Halvo's beaming face. He motioned for us to get in.

"Shotgun!" I yelled, running for the car. I opened the door and climbed in as John climbed in the back. As soon as I was in the car Halvo's lips were on mine and I smiled, leaning into the kiss. John coughed from the back seat, and we broke away. Halvo was grinning from ear to ear. He grabbed my hand and laced our fingers.

"Where to?" Halvo asked, building speed as he pulled away from the curb.

"Take me back to Peyton's apartment. I don't want to crash this date," John mumbled. I felt horrible again.

"If you say so," Halvo replied, driving the short distance to our apartment. As soon as we pulled up John opened the door and jumped out, mumbling a "Goodbye" to Halvo.

"Be right back, I need to go get my bag" I told Halvo, stepping out of the car. I ran down the small courtyard outside of our apartment and tried to catch up to John.

"John wait," I yelled. He turned around, dropping the bowl. It shattered on the ground, and I looked down at it. Before I could look back up, he pushed me up against the wall and forcefully pushed his lips against mine. I was too shocked to even react. It was over too quickly as he backed up and threw his hands up in the air. He turned and ran into the apartment, leaving me leaning breathless against the wall. I smoothed my clothes over, put on a brave face and walked back to Halvo's car. I walked slowly, thinking about how quickly my life went from amazing to shitty in a few hours. I wasn't a two-timing hussy. I wasn't even a one-timing hussy. I wasn't dating Halvo or John.

"You ready?" he smiled as I opened the door.

"Fuck yes," I sighed, buckling my seatbelt.

"Where's your bag?" he asked, looking down at my empty hands.

"Uh, couldn't find it," I lied.

"Where to?" he asked, putting the car in reverse.

"Please take me anywhere but here." I replied. He laughed.

"Mayday Parade, nice." He replied. I hadn't even noticed, and I chuckled to myself.

"Let's play a game. If we say a sentence, it has to have a song title in it!" I practically yelled.

"Oh, you are going down, Smith," he laughed.

"Rules. Eh, just emphasize what the song title is. Ready?"

"Go!" he replied.

"Pfft! You don't know me!" I started.

"Oh Peyton, I sure as hell know you!" he replied. I laughed.

"I think you're wonderful." I boldly stated.

"Well, you are everything I ask for," he replied, staring straight ahead, a smile plastered on his face. I smiled, and then sighed at his use of "The Maine." I looked at the speedometer and freaked out.

"Woah Halvo, slow down, you're breaking the law!" I screamed. He laughed and took his foot off of the gas pedal.

"Girlfriend," was all he said next. He didn't say it in the sassy way people used the term, "Girlfriend." He just threw the word out there. I just looked at him.

"Huh?" was all I could say.

"Would you be my girlfriend?" he asked again, nervously I might add.

"I can't believe you pulled out the NYSNC." I laughed.

"You pulled out the Judas Priest," he screamed, and then laughed. "Really though Peyton," he added.

"Of course, Eric, I would love to be your girlfriend." I smiled, and leaned my head to rest on his shoulder. I was Halvo's girlfriend. I smiled. The day went from confusing to total clarity. This was where I was meant to be. Where I wanted to be. Here in this car, with Eric Halvorsen. John O'Callaghan who?


	10. Damn Rough Night

**A/N: We don't mean to confuse you, but Peyton's chapter is going first instead of Julia's this one time. So much stuff happens that it would ruin it if Julia's were to go first. Thank you for reading and being patient!**

One month later.

"That's all the hints you are going to give me?" I whined into the phone as Kennedy walked into the apartment. I waved and smiled at him, making a motion for him to sit while I was pleading with my boyfriend.

"Baby, that's not really fair at all," I sighed.

"Life's not fair, love. Just be ready by 6, okay?" he said, rushing to get off of the phone.

"Well… what do I need to wear?" I asked.

"Clothes," he said laughing and hanging up. I dropped the phone on the couch and fell onto it. I rested my head on Kenny's lap looking up at him.

"Do you know where he is taking me?" I asked Kennedy. We had become really close in the past month. They were leaving for tour soon and I didn't know what I was going to do without him. I hadn't really talked to John in about a month. After he found out that Halvo and I were officially dating, he disappeared off of the face of my world. Julia talked to him all of the time, but not me. It was sad. I missed the kid.

"No idea," he replied, smiling.

"Lies," I said, tired of the secrecy. It was our one month anniversary today. One month, that was longer than I had ever dated someone consecutively. It was an accomplishment for me.

"No lie. I just don't know. Ask John, he's Halvo's bff," he chuckled, knowing full well why I couldn't. Kenny was the only one who knew about John's assault on my lips. I didn't even tell Julia.

"Hardy har har," I mumbled under my breath. "Hey, where's Patty cakes? I thought he was coming?" I asked, looking around.

"Julia was outside when we got here, so they went off together," he shrugged.

"Oooooohhhh! I hope something happens there," I gushed, excitedly.

"Why?" he asked.

"They are adorable together. And after the whole Cameron douchefest, she deserves to be happy, don't you think so Kenny?"

"You are right, I forgot all about 'The Great Leahy Incident of 2010,'" he chuckled to himself. "She does seem a lot happier." I just nodded.

"What am I going to do without you Kenny?" I sighed, still looking up at him.

"Aww shucks," he fake gushed, "I don't know little lady. I'm sure you will manage." I giggled at him and sat up.

"I most certainly will not! Who am I going to call for relationship advice, or for slumber parties!"I cried out.

"Get another girlfriend, 'cause this one has to go on tour," he did the triple snap, and whipped his head around with sass.

"I DON'T WANT ANOTHER GIRLFRIEND! I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU!" I buried my head in the couch, trying to stifle my laughs. He paused for a minute.

"Come with us," he said. I sat back and laughed, like that was the dumbest idea in the world.

"I can't just drop everything and come on tour with you Kenny, that would be…" I trailed off. I couldn't think of anything bad. It would be amazing.

"It would be… the most amazing thing ever," he finished for me, flashing that toothy grin.

"But Halvo," I sighed.

"Rocket's going on tour soon. They can't take any more people with them. Their van is tight as it is. We have a bus, and we need merch girls."

"I am so in!" I squealed. "Oh Kenny! Sleepovers every night! It will be like we never even left Tempe!"

"Don't call them sleepovers. I like to think of them more as like… a man friend staying over, watching manly movies, eating manly food, drinking manly beer!" he growled, trying to be a man, and failing.

"Kenny, we watch chick flicks, and we drink wine. I have seen you cry before. We call them sleepovers." I whispered, letting him know that I would never let the word get out that he cried once when we watched The Notebook.

"Fuck me, I need a girlfriend," he sighed and laid back on the couch.

"Agreed." I laughed, and laid my head on his shoulder. Just then the door busted open and Julia ran into the apartment.

"Jules! I am going on tour!" I yelled.

"SO AM I!" she yelled back, and I jumped up and gave her a huge hug. This was going to be the best time of our lives, and I for one, couldn't wait. I looked at Pat and Kennedy and told them we would be right back. I pushed Jules into the kitchen.

"So…" I said low enough that the boys couldn't hear. "Eric is taking me somewhere tonight, and I don't know where."

"Really? Hm," she responded, looking anywhere but at me. She knew.

"WHERE?" I asked.

"Oh no, I promised. I even did the scout's honor, AND pinky swore. I can't Pey," she sighed.

"How should I dress?" I asked. "At least tell me that…" I pleaded.

"Dress normal," she shrugged. I rolled my eyes.

"Do you think it's too soon in our relationship to…" I struggled to find the right words, "uh, take our relationship to the next level?"

"I can't decide that for you," she replied, smiling. The fact that I was even thinking about having sex with Halvo was a big thing.

"It's only been a month. I want to be in love when I have sex for the first time. I'm on my way, but not quite there yet," I sighed, making up my mind that I would wait. I looked at the clock on the wall.

"Better go get ready," I said, walking down the hallway to my bedroom. After I got out of the shower, I stood in front of my closet, just staring at all of the clothes I had. Everything I owned was either flannel or a band shirt of some kind. I had a few summer dresses, but Julia told me dress normal. I sighed and pulled out a pair of black semi-dressy shorts, a white v-neck and a black vest. This wouldn't look too bad. If I wore my long chain necklaces and dog tag, I could pull it all together. I pulled out my gladiator sandals and laid the outfit on my bed. Not too shabby. I quickly fixed my hair and did my make-up, making sure I looked presentable. I threw on my clothes and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I smiled. I opened the door and bounced down the hallway screaming "Merry Christmas, Baby" by Brighten as loud as I could.

"SHUT UP" Kennedy yelled, "It's fucking summer!" I giggled and sat down on the couch, waiting for 6 to roll along.

"You look…" Kenny trailed off,

"That bad?" I asked, horrified.

"No. You look amazing. Have fun tonight," he winked at me, and then raised his eyebrows.

"Ew, you perv," I hit him. Then there was a knock on the door. I jumped up and fixed my hair before I opened the door.

"Hello Hal… John," I greeted as I fully opened the door. My stomach did that weird flippy thing when I saw him. I silently cursed in my head. He kind of nodded politely at me, but I could tell he wasn't expecting to see me here.

"Kennedy, are you ready man?" he asked, shouting into the apartment. I gestured for him to come in, but he declined. Awesome.

"Oh yeah! I forgot, gotta work on all of the junk before tour. Oh hey John, Julia and Peyton are going on tour with us, isn't that great?" Kennedy asked him, joining us at the door. John just stared at me, and then looked back at Kennedy. He nodded, but didn't say anything. Kennedy gave me a hug and kissed my cheek.

"Goodbye Peyton!" Kennedy said. "Halvo my MAN!" I could hear a high-five taking place, but couldn't see Halvo around John.

"Hey guys! What are you doing here?" he asked, curiously.

"Just hanging. We gotta go work on some things, but have fun tonight you guys." Kenny said, starting to walk away. John just stood there. "John, come on!" John snapped out of his trance, mumbled a goodbye and followed Kennedy. Halvo's eyes followed John, he opened his mouth to say something but stopped and sighed. Then he turned his head to look at me.

"Wow," was all Halvo could say when he saw me. I blushed and grabbed his hand.

"You too," I replied, pulling him in for a quick kiss. "So where are we going?" I asked.

"Out," was all he said.

"What's with all the secrecy?" I asked, starting to getting annoyed. He just shrugged and led me to his car.

"So what was up with John? There's something wrong with him lately. He has barely talked to me in a month. I miss him," Halvo stated, looking hurt.

"He isn't talking to me much either, so I don't really know," I lied. Not about that not talking to him part, that was true, but the part where I didn't know… I just lied to my boyfriend. Shit. Suddenly someone in the back seat popped up and placed a blindfold over my eyes, scaring the shit out of me.

"WHAT THE…"

"Baby, relax," Halvo said in a soothing voice.

"Who's in the back?" I asked, but Halvo didn't answer. They must have been hiding the whole time. He just grabbed my ipod and started playing music.

"What is with all of this shitty music?" Halvo asked. I sighed. Halvo and I listened to a lot of the same music, but I will always hold a place in my heart for 90's boy bands.

"Don't diss boy bands. You are in one." I replied.

"We are not a boy band!" he whined.

"You are boys in a band. How is that not a boy band?"

"Our music rocks. Their music, not so much. Big difference there." He stated, matter of fact-ly. The drive wasn't long, but I was getting antsy. I felt the car come to a stop and I waited for someone to come get me. I could hear my door open and a hand gently touch my shoulder. I held my hand out, and the person, I am assuming Halvo, grabbed it and lead me out of the car.

"Here, jump on my back. I don't feel like leading the blind," he chuckled. I smiled and whoever else was there helped me onto Halvo's back. "God, you smell good Peyton," Halvo mumbled, starting to walk.

"Thank you, buddy. You smell good too," I said, burying my head in his neck, getting comfortable on his back. He walked for a little bit and then set me down on the ground.

"You can sit down Peyton," he told me.

"Er, is there a chair? Or am I sitting on the ground, or what?" I asked, not wanting to make myself look like an idiot. I felt him breathing softly on my face and I knew he was in front of me. He leaned in and kissed me softly, taking off the blindfold at the same time. He pulled away slowly and I gasped. It was one of the most gorgeous, nicest, thoughtful things anyone had ever done for me. There was a huge blanket spread, with candles all over the place. There were plates and a bottle of wine. I smiled to myself. I scored big time when I became Eric Halvorsen's girlfriend. He was the greatest boyfriend a girl could ask for.

"Oh wow," was all I could manage to say.

"Do you like it?" he asked, smiling.

"Of course I do, it's perfect." I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him in for a long, romantic kiss. We pulled away and sat down on the blanket. As soon as we sat down, someone walked up next us wearing a black tuxedo. He even had on a bowtie. I tried hard not to laugh as none other than Nick Santino kneeled down on the blanket, picking up the bottle of wine.

"Hello, my name is Nicholas, and I will be your server tonight. What we have here, is some kind of wine, from some year, that probably tastes like shit because it was cheap," he stated, smirking. Halvo cleared his throat and glared at Nick. I lost it. I laughed so hard, I had to catch my breath. I guess that's who blindfolded me.

"Er, sorry. What I meant to say was, this will be the best wine you have ever tasted," he said, pouring wine into our glasses.

"Better," Halvo grinned. I lifted my glass to Nick and tasted it. It wasn't the best, but it definitely wasn't the worst.

"Thank you Nicholas," I smiled. Nick nodded and walked away. I giggled. "Wow baby, this is so romantic," I said, looking around at all of the decorations he had put up. There were string lights, and paper lanterns hanging from the gazebo we were under. People were walking by, smiling. I heard a few "awww's," from some of the girls. I smiled to myself.

"Happy one-month, Peyton!" Halvo whispered, grabbing my hand and running his fingers over the tattoo on my wrist. I had gotten the walrus eating ice cream that Halvo had drawn on me tattoo'd for real the day after the party. No, I wasn't branding myself or being one of those stupid girls who loses every aspect of her life because she is dating someone. I simply thought it was the cutest thing ever. If Barney the Dinosaur drew the same thing on my wrist, I would still get it tattooed. The fact that it was my boyfriend who drew it, well that was just a bonus.

"Happy one-month Eric," I replied, smiling. We talked about any and everything, and Nick was surprisingly a great waiter. We had my favorite food in the entire world, chicken fettuccini alfredo. At least I did, Halvo had it minus the chicken. It was getting late and the perfect date was coming to an end. Halvo stood up and grabbed my hand. He started walking away from the Gazebo. I stopped.

"What about clean up?" I asked, looking down at the blanket.

"Nick isn't doing this for free! I paid him. So, he is working hard to earn this money." Halvo laughed. I smiled and we started walking around the rest of the park. Halvo had his arm draped around me and I leaned my head on his shoulder. Normally, I just rolled my eyes at all of the people who counted months in their relationships as anniversaries. I guess I only did that because I never made it to a milestone in a relationship. This was my first one. It felt damn good too. We were still getting to know each other, but we were comfortable around each other, and that meant the world to me.

"Favorite Mighty Ducks movie?" he asked me.

"Oh come one. D2! Hands down, the best." I answered, giggling at the simple question. I thought long and hard before asking him my question.

"What's your favorite memory?" I asked Eric. We were asking each other 5 questions each. We did this every day. Eventually, we would know each other's secrets, but I liked taking things slow.

"Oh god, that's a tough one," Halvo muttered. "I guess it was my 16th birthday. Jared was throwing me a party at his house, and all of my friends came. I mean every single one of them. Someone brought booze, and we all got shitfaced. John decided we should all go to 8123 and skateboard drunk. Jared was the only one not drinking, so he drove us there. We all piled into the car. Most uncomfortable car ride of my life." Halvo shrugged. "This is a dumb memory. I don't know why it's my favorite." I laughed.

"Go on. What happened?" I asked.

"John liked this girl, her name was Blair. Everyone thought she was a bitch, but not John. He tries to look for the best in people, and I love that about him. He was trying to show off in front of her. He tried to do a trick and ended up running into a parked truck. He broke his leg, and left a huge ass dent in the truck." Halvo smiled. I giggled, trying to picture it. "Jared wanted to take him to the ER but we were 16, you know? We weren't supposed to be drinking, so we went back to Jared's and waited until we sobered up to take John. He was in pain for hours, and we all felt horrible. What could we do? We all do stupid shit when we are young."

"I wish I had stories like that. I wish I had friends like you do. Your group is so tight, like family." I sighed, thinking of my high school friends. I didn't talk to any of them anymore.

"Well, you're a part of our 'family' now Peyton. You and Julia are. We love you guys," he stated, looking into my eyes.

"We love you guys too," I smiled. He pulled me to his chest and wrapped his arms around me. I felt safe, and I felt loved.

"I am going to miss the shit out of you when we go on tour," he whispered into my ear.

"Me too," I sighed. I pulled back slightly and looked up at him. "I am going on tour with The Maine. Julie and I, we are going to be selling merch." I smiled.

"That's awesome! That's going to be fun," he smiled. "I am jealous that The Maine got you guys. I wish we had enough room to bring you along."

I nodded. "I wish that could happen too." Halvo cupped his hand behind my neck and started to bring me in for another kiss when his cell phone made a loud beeping noise. He paused and then grabbed his phone.

"Sorry! I am waiting for a text from my mom," he grinned and looked embarrassed. I nodded and smiled.

"Oh! It's from John. I guess he loves me again!" he said, sounding like a little boy on Christmas morning. His eyes quickly scanned the screen and then continued to stare at it.

"Halvo? Is everything okay? Is it bad news?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"Halvo, you are my best friend. You know I would never do anything intentionally to hurt you," Halvo started reading from his phone. My heart started to sink, I knew where this was going. "But I kissed Peyton. It was before you guys started dating. She didn't do anything so don't be mad at her. I just felt the need to tell you this, because we tell each other everything. It's been eating at me for the past month. I hope you can forgive me. I love you, broski. –John Cornelius O'Callaghan V." All I could do was stare at him. I didn't know what to say.

"He kissed you, and you never told me?" he asked. He sounded hurt more than anything.

"It was before we dated. It wasn't really anything. He kind of snuck one on me, and it just… really wasn't a big deal." I mumbled, looking at the ground.

"My girlfriend and my best friend kissed," he shook his head from side to side. "That is just… pretty fucked up Peyton."

"It didn't mean anything Eric!" I pleaded, trying to get things back to normal. This was our one month, our milestone. John just ruined it.

"You could have at least told me Peyton," he whispered. "When exactly did this happen?"

"It happened when…" I started but was cut off.

"You know, I don't know that I even want to know!"he shouted. I couldn't do this. I couldn't sit here and try to defend myself when he wasn't giving me the chance.

"IT WAS BEFORE YOU AND I WERE ANYTHING, ERIC!" I screamed. He just stared me down, his eyes shooting me daggers. "Why aren't you mad at John! He was the one who kissed ME, not the other way around!"

"Oh I am fucking pissed off at John right now. We have a bro-code. He just threw the whole handbook out of the fucking window."

"Calm down Eric," I said, instantly regretting it as soon as the words were out of my mouth.

"CALM DOWN? Don't you tell me to calm down, Peyton. The fact that I am even with a girl like you is astonishing to me. I don't deserve you! I am just a nerdy kid, and you, god look at you Peyton. You could have anyone you wanted! And out of everyone in the world, you kissed John. Fucking John O'Callaghan. How do I compete with that? The guy is walking sex!" he spat out.

"There is no competition! I want you Eric. I want you and nobody else. If I wanted John, do you really think I would be here with you right now? If I really wanted John I wouldn't be dating you. But I am here, with you, on our one month anniversary. Damn it Eric, one month is longer than I have ever stayed with anyone. This" I said, moving my hands back and forth between Eric and I, "means the world to me!" I said, tears rolling down my cheeks. I hurt Eric, and I didn't ever want to do that. I don't know how I am at fault for all of this, but I didn't feel like arguing anymore. I just wanted to have my Halvo back. I wanted us to be okay.

"I can't do this right now Peyton. I just…" he paused, obviously trying to think of a nice way to break up with me. Fuck this. I shook my head, trying to blink away my tears and started to back away from him. I turned and started running. I didn't know where I was going, but I was getting the hell away from Eric. I ran past Nick, still picking up the remnants of dinner. I ran past Eric's car. I kept running until my feet took me to an all too familiar house. This house belonged to two men. One I wanted to see more than anyone. The other one was the bane of my existence at the moment. I knocked on the door, praying Kennedy opened the door. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes, trying to get my crying under control.

"Peyton?"

"Oh Kenny…" I cried, running into his arms.

"What the hell happened?"

"I…I… Where's John?" I asked.

"I don't know. He isn't here."

"John, he… he…"

"He what, Peyton? Use your words."

"He ruined our date. He texted Eric and he told him…" I tried to gasp for air between my sobs.

"He told him about the kiss?" he sighed, a look of worry etched on his face. All I could do was nod.

"We need tequila. We need chick flicks. We need ice cream, and we need junk food. Stat." he smiled, grabbing my hand and bringing me inside of the small two bedroom house. He walked into the tiny kitchen and I went to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like I had been hit by a truck. My hair lost its curl, my make-up was running. My eyes were puffy. I looked at my clothes and sighed. I opened the door to the bathroom.

"Hey Kenny do you have any," but before I could finish, he was standing there with pajama pants and sweatshirt. "God, I love you!" I smiled and grabbed the clothes, closing the door behind me and quickly changing. I heard my phone vibrate on the countertop. Halvo. I pushed ignore and picked up my phone sending a quick text to Julie.

"Spending night Kenny's. Date went horrible. Tell you about it tomorrow. I love you!"

I walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen to see what Kennedy was doing. My phone vibrated again. I placed it on the counter and stared at it as a picture of Eric and I flashed on the screen.

"Stop calling me," I muttered, switching my phone off and looking at Kenny. He shot me a sad look, but shook it off.

"No moping. This is a mope free zone. Go pick a movie. I am making you a margarita," he said, mixing some stuff up in the blender.

"Thank god!" I shouted, walking into the living room. I sat down in front of the entertainment system, scanning through the movies. Kennedy came out of the kitchen, a look of concentration on his face as he tried not to spill the glorious liquid on the floor. He set them down on the coffee table. Mission accomplished.

"Definitely, Maybe." I stated, pulling the DVD out of the collection and popping it into the DVD player.

"Nice." He smiled, patting the couch next to him. I grabbed my drink and snuggled close to Kenny.

"Why are guys such asses, Kenny?" I asked, taking a sip of my margarita. He knew how I liked them, lots of Jose and lots of salt. Thank god for Kennedy.

"I don't know Pey, it's just how we operate."

"Aw, Kenny, I don't think you could ever be an ass. You are one of the sweetest guys I have ever met."

"I try, but even the nice ones screw you over sometimes," he shrugged. I assumed he was talking about the situation he once had with his ex, Gabi. He cheated on her, and has never been able to forgive himself.

We watched the whole movie, drank the whole pitcher of margaritas and were now onto straight shots.

"When I was four, I had a dog." Kennedy stated in a drunken stupor.

"When I was four, I had a phobia of clothes." I replied.

"Clothes?"

"Yes. I liked being naked." I shrugged, winning that round of, "most interesting thing to happen." It was a game we made up on the spot. I downed my shot of tequila.

"When I was five, I was obsessed with Michael Jackson."

"When I was five, I swallowed a Barbie head. Then I had my first surgery to remove said Barbie head," I raised my shotglass and drank, winning yet another round.

"Hey, that was two! Cheater. Well, when I was six, almost killed my cousin by pouring the liquid you put in de-humidifying machines on his head. He stopped breathing."

"When I was six, I… no you win." He raised his shotglass and drank. We were on our second bottle of tequila.

"When I was seven… no I think we should stop." I stated, not able to feel any part of my body.

"Agreed," he nodded and fell back on the floor. I curled up and laid next to him.

"Kenny," I whispered.

"Hm?"

"You are the best guy friend a girl could have." I smiled.

"You are the best girl friend a girl could have," he replied. I giggled.

"If we are 30, and both of us are still single, let's get married. We can have lots of sex and babies and grow old together." I stated, as if this was something I said in normal conversation.

"Deal. We have to have a boy and name him Kennedy Junior. And we need to a have a girl and name her Kennedy junior."

"We can have twins, and name them Kennedy Juniors." I smiled.

"Triplets. We can name one of them Peyton Junior, but the other two, Kennedy's." he laughed. I loved his laugh, it was so comforting. Just then the door unlocked and John walked in, closing the door behind him.

"JOHN OHHH!" Kennedy yelled. John jumped about 10 feet in the air.

"Fuck!" he muttered under his breath. "You fucking scared me Kennedy."

"Sorry!" Kennedy giggled like a little school girl.

"Keep it down Kennedy, it's 4 in the morning." John said, and then he noticed me. He rubbed the back of his neck and awkwardly waved with his other hand. "Hello Peyton…" he mumbled.

"Hi," was all I said, sounding less than friendly. "I am going to bed," I said, trying to stand up, but falling back down. Kennedy thought it was hilarious and went into another fit of giggles. John walked over and tried to help me up. I swatted his hands away from me, and glared at him.

"You've done enough for one night, don't you think?" I slurred, jumping up and started to stumble towards Kennedy's bedroom. "I hate you John O'Callaghan!" I yelled out behind me, not caring if I crushed his heart or not. He had already mutilated mine.

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	11. Take It Slow

One month later…

"You're going on tour next week?" I asked Pat. We were outside his place throwing around a baseball. I threw it at him, perfect catch.

"Yeah," he said tossing it back…not so perfect catch for me. "It's a short tour though. Not that many cities." 

"Still sounds like fun," I replied. "And little ole' me can't go," I said in a southern belle accent. I put my arm on my forehead like I was fake fainting. "I just can't go on!" I laid myself on the ground. Laughing, Pat came over and laid down beside me. He looked at me, and I did the same.

"Now, who told you that you were being left here?" he asked. I sat up in excitement. 

"Nuh uh!" I yelled. He smiled, and when he did, I jumped up on my feet and put both my arms in the air.

"Touchdown! I'm going on tour!" I looked at Pat, who was still lying on the ground, laughing. I jumped on top of him and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuu!" 

"There's one condition though," he said. 

I pulled back. "What is it?" 

"You have to sell merch," he said. I groaned. 

"I have to deal with all the fan girls coming up and asking, 'Hay, hook me up wid dat John boy, eh'?" 

"Oh come on. It'll be worth it," he said, pouting. 

"Now how can I say no to that face?" He smiled and pulled me back in for a hug.

It's been a month since Cameron had gone back to Virginia. It has also been a month since I had last talked to him. Many nights I would get no sleep because I just wanted to pick up my phone and call him…I missed him a lot. But I left the decision up to him to call me...and he hasn't. It's also been a month since Pat and I first talked. Ever since that night, we have gone to each other for everything and anything. He was my best friend…aside from Peyton.

Pat walked me back to my apartment, just to make sure I didn't get raped or kidnapped or something like that. I always felt safe when we hung out.

We walked in to the apartment to see Peyton and Kennedy sitting on the couch, and Peyton looked like she had been told the greatest news ever. 

"Jules! I am going on tour!" she yelled to me. 

"SO AM I!" I yelled back, and she jumped up and gave me a hug. This tour, even though it was apparently short, would be the best month or so of my life. Surrounded by all my best friends, traveling …. So good. 

"We will be right back, boys," Peyton said, grabbing me by the wrist and taking me into the kitchen. 

"So…" she whispered so the boys couldn't hear her. "Eric is taking me somewhere tonight, and I don't know where." 

"Really? Hm," I responded…Eric had called me earlier the day before telling me what he had planned: a beautiful date out at the park with Nick Santino as their servant. But I promised Halvo I wouldn't say a word to Peyton about it. 

"WHERE?" she asked. 

"Oh no, I promised. I even did the scout's honor, AND pinky swore. I can't Pey," I said with a sigh. I hated keeping things from her, but this wasn't my place to tell her. 

"How should I dress?" she asked. "At least tell me that…" 

"Dress normal," I shrugged. I didn't wanna say too much. I saw Peyton roll her eyes at me. 

"Do you think it's too soon in our relationship to…"she paused for a few seconds, then continued, "uh, take our relationship to the next level?" 

"I can't decide that for you," I replied. I smiled at her. I can't believe my Peyton was thinking about boinkin' Halvo! This was huge! 

"It's only been a month. I want to be in love when I have sex for the first time. I'm on my way, but not quite there yet," she sighed. She directed her attention to the clock on the wall. "Better go get ready," she said, exiting the kitchen. I exited shortly after and went back into the living room. Pat stood up beside me and put his arm around my shoulder. 

"Hey…how's about we have that sleep over we've been talking about having?" he asked. Random. Totally loved it. 

"Uh, hell yeah. Under one condition," I replied. 

"Oh god..what." 

"I pick the movies." A smirk formed across my face. He let out a sigh. 

"Fine, come on."

When we got to Pat's place, the first place I went was the couch. I sprawled out on it, kicked off my shoes, and got comfortable. Pat walked into the kitchen. 

"You want a drink?" he called out. 

"You got Diet Coke?" I asked. 

"Uh, duh." I sat up as he entered the living room. I took the cup from him, and he sat down beside me. 

"Humph. Spaghetti o's or chef Boyardee ravioli?" he asked me. Peyton and Halvo asked each other 5 questions every day so they can know each other well. Pat and I liked this idea…so we stole it. 

"Oh man. I think I'll go with s-ghetti o's," I replied, taking a sip of my drink. "Alright…alright…who took your v-card?" 

"..I'm……a…." he was mumbling. I couldn't hear anything he was saying. 

"Speak up, buddy." 

"I'm a virgin," he said. 

"No you're not!" I chuckled. He puffed out his bottom lip. 

"Yeah, I am." 

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry I laughed then," I said, ruffling his hair. 

"No big. …I'm just waiting for the right girl, you know? I have to know I love her before I bang her," he said with a laugh. A smile formed across my face. I then felt something vibrate in my pocket. I took my phone out to see what it was. I opened it up. 

"_Peyton: Spending night Kenny's. Date went horrible. Tell you about it tomorrow. I love you!"_ I stared at my phone for a minute, thinking of what could have went wrong. 

"Hey…Julia…everything okay?" Pat asked me, getting me out of my daze. 

"Yeah, yeah. I suppose…let's watch something," I replied. 

"Okay, what do you wanna watch?" 

I scanned his DVD selection from the couch. I saw a few movies that I knew I definitely wanted to watch…then I had an idea. 

"Pat. You may hate me for this, but I know what we're doing tonight," I said. A small smile formed across my face. 

"What?" he asked.

"Oh I just can't wait to be king!," we both sang out. We were snuggled together on the couch watching and singing along to Disney movies. Life was amazing. 

"You know, JuJu, I hate you, but I love you at the same time for this," he said with a laugh, pulling me in closer to him. 

"Oh hush, you love me all the time," I stated, flashing a cheesy grin at him. 

"Gotta love that smile," he said under his breath. I don't know if I was supposed to hear that or not, but I did. 

"I want to use my last question, Julia. Try not to get upset when I ask it, okay?" he suddenly requested. 

"Alright, shoot," I said, snuggling into his chest. 

"Do you still miss Cameron?" My heart sank. I hated thinking about Cameron. Ugh. Cameron. But, we made a promise to answer everything truthfully… 

"Yes and no," I replied. 

"Elaborate." 

"Well…sometimes it's like, I wish I had him around. I mean, we have been there for each other since kindergarten…I have always been used to having him by my side, through anything. And we've had some fights, but we were best friends. We got past it. We told each other everything. Hell, he was my brother. So that's why it's yes. And here's why it's no. I told him to call me when he wanted to stop being like this. I have said that to him every single time we've gotten into a fight. And he has always called. And we have gotten into worse arguments than this…..I don't know why he won't….anyways, I have you, Peyton, and the rest of the boys of Tempe. You're all my friends. And I love you all" 

"And we love you, Julia." 

We were silent for a long time after that. We finished the rest of The Lion King before either one of spoke again. 

"Why do you like me, Pat?" I asked him. 

"Because you're nice to look at," he replied without hesitation. I shot him a look. 

"Seriously?" 

"Ha-ha no…well I mean, yeah. You're pretty, but I like your personality. I can talk to you, and you actually listen to me and try to help me, unlike the guys who just kinda laugh and pretend it's nothing. You and I are like the same person, except you have a vagina." 

I let out a laugh. "And you don't?" 

"Oh, you're going to get it now," he said as he started to inch closer to me. I shot up and he shot up too, chasing me around the couch. After about a minute, he cheated and jumped over the couch, tackling me to the ground. We both busted into laugher as he lay on top of me. We eventually stopped and were staring into each other's eyes. We spent five minutes doing that; staring at each other and breathing heavily. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. 

Then, it happened. 

Pat quickly lowered himself and kissed me. He quickly retrieved himself and we were in the same position we were in a few seconds ago. He was about to get up, but I pulled him back on top of me and we were tangled in a deep kiss.  
After about five minutes, he pulled back, stood up, and swooped me into his arms. He took me to his bedroom and put me on the bed. He got on top of me again and wrapped his arms around me. I put my arms around his neck, and we started kissing again. We went on for about eight or so minutes when I pulled back. 

I let out a yawn. Pat got off of me and sat down beside me. "Sleepy?" 

"Yeah…I might just hit the hay," I said, starting to get under his bed's covers. 

"Okay..let me go turn everything off." He exited into the living room. I laid there, stiff.  
_…What just happened? _ I thought to myself. Pat entered a few seconds later. He turned the lights off and got under the covers and laid down beside me. 

"Is something wrong?" he asked me. 

I closed my eyes. "No..just…sleepy." He put his arms around my waist and cuddled up against me. I put my hands on his hands, and before I knew it, we were both asleep. 

"Julia…..hey…..hey…Wake up," I heard a voice say to me. It sounded like it was very far away. I slowly opened my eyes. I sat up in bed and looked around me. Pat wasn't in the room…no one was in the room. 

"Humph. Werid," I mumbled, laying back down. 

"Don't go back to sleep, love," I heard that same voice say. I sat back up and looked beside me. And there he was. 

"…Cameron? What are you doing here?" I asked him. This was surreal. 

"I missed you..a lot..," he said, running his fingers through my hair. "I just had to come back to your place. I just had to. I couldn't stand it anymore." 

…_My place?_ I thought. I looked around. Sure enough, I was in my apartment. I wasn't going to ask any questions. 

"Cameron..you never called. It has been a month. You never called…" I started. I began to cry. Cameron pulled me into his arms, and I buried my face in his chest and began to cry more. 

"I wanted to talk to you at the right time, and the time is now," he whispered. 

"You can't just expect me to forgive you all of a sudden, Cameron…it doesn't work like that," I murmured. 

"Julia, listen…you are my best friend. You always have been, and you always will be. Nothing will ever tear us apart. Nothing." 

"Cameron, I-" 

"Shh... I was a jerk, Julia. I should have never doubted you. What happened that night…was something magical. I felt like we had become one. It was more than making love to me…I can't describe it. Finally being that close to you just….it just felt right," he started. His eyes were getting watery. 

"Cameron, please.." 

"Julia, I love you. More than anything and anyone. If I don't have you..I…." 

"You what, Cameron?" 

A tear rolled down his cheek as he said, "I have no will to live." 

"Oh…..Cameron…I love you…" 

He put his hand on the bottom of my chin and lifted my head up. Our lips inched closer and closer to each other… I could almost taste him……………..

"Julia………………………..JULIA!" I opened my eyes yet again, but this time, Pat was jumping up and down on the bed. ….It was all a dream.. 

"Jesus, what is it Pat?" I asked, sitting up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as he spoke. 

"I just wanted you to wake up. I was lonely," he said as he jumped off the bed. 

"You better have breakfast ready if you're waking me up this early." 

"Pancakes and Sunny-D." 

A huge grin came across my face. "You're the best."

As I dragged myself into the kitchen, the sweet smell of Pat's amazing flapjacks entered my nose. He cooked the best pancakes. I walked over to the table to find a small surprise waiting for me. 

"Oh my god, they are in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head!" I yelled with excitement. "I don't know how I'll be able to eat them now, they're too cute!" 

"I'm sure you'll manage…if you're hungry," he replied, sitting down. He began to eat from his plate. I sat down beside him and also began to dig in. Jesus, Pat's pancakes were like an orgasm in your mouth. 

"PattyCakes, I don't know how you do it, but your pancakes…always the best," I said, with a mouthful. 

"Ha-ha, I know, I know." 

-KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK-  
"Well shit. I'll go see who it is," Pat said, standing up and walking out of the kitchen. I gulped down the rest of my Sunny-D and finished my pancakes, and Pat wasn't back yet. 

"Hmm…Hope he didn't get abducted," I mumbled to myself. I looked toward the kitchen entrance to make sure he wasn't coming back. I took my fork and took one of his pancakes and put it on my plate. 

"Julia..," Pat said reentering the kitchen. Startled, I dropped my fork onto the table. 

"What is it, Pat?" I asked him. 

"There's someone here to see you," he said. 

"Who is it?" 

"Just…just come to the door." 

I followed him into the living room and directed my attention towards the door. 

"Hey Julie," they said. 

"…What're you doing here?"


	12. Rumored Nights

A/N Thank you for being patient! We have been busy finishing school and everything! Sorry it took so long. I personally love this chapter, it is fun. I can't wait for you guys to read the next chapter. Kicking this chapter off in Peyton's POV again. We love comments and feedback on both chapters, because it lets us know personally how we are doing. Thank you!

I woke up to find various parts of somebody's body on top of mine. Not only was it not comfortable, but it was making me really, really hot.

"Ugh. Get off of me, fatty." I mumbled, trying to push Kennedy off of me. He had his arm thrown haphazardly on top of my chest, his legs wrapped around mine. He certainly looked comfortable. My thoughts of the previous night were all scattered, and I couldn't remember what really happened and what I had made up in my head. I really needed to stop drinking.

"Kennedy no middle name Brock, I am only going to ask you once to extract your limbs from MY body or I will gnaw them off of YOUR body." I said calmly and then sighed. It didn't work. He just grumbled and pulled me closer.

"Five more minutes mom, please," he whispered. He instantly started snoring in my ear again. The boy had narcolepsy, I was sure of it. I just laid there, tired of fighting this battle. I would lose. I felt gross and I really needed a shower. I laid there for five minutes before attempting again.

"Get off of me Kennedy."

"Mmmmm."

"Kenny."

"Nuhhhhh."

"KENNEDY!"

"PEYTON!" he yelled back, retracting his leg from on top of mine. Now for his arms.

"Kenny…" I whined. He hated when I whined, it was a pet peeve of his.

"No."

"But, Kenny…"

"Keep whining and I will throw my leg back up and go back to sleep," he stated. I sighed attempted to roll out of his grasp. It almost worked, but he dragged me back to his chest and held onto me with a death grip.

"Oh Kenny, I stink!" I exclaimed, "Can I please, for the love of all that is holy, go take a shower?"

"Oh Pey, you do stink!" he teased, releasing me and rolling over to his other side. I giggled.

"Stealing some of your clothes!"

"I want them back. I mean it this time Peyton!" he shouted after me as I made my way into his bathroom. Yeah, I have a growing pile of Kennedy's clothes, all tucked in their own drawer. I will give them back. Eventually. I started the water and started to strip down. I gazed at myself in the mirror. I looked pretty rough. My eyes had bags under them, they were puffy and red. My hair was thrown up on my head in a messy bun. I guess it doesn't matter what I look like anymore. I was single, and definitely not ready to mingle. I undressed the rest of the way and stepped into the shower. I let the hot water wash all of the stress from yesterday away. I used Kennedy's shampoo. He used Paul Mitchell and it smelt like granny smith apples. All he had was men's body wash, and I scrunched my nose at the thought of smelling manly. I already acted manly, smelling AND dressing like one may cross the line. I shrugged and used it anyway. I began thinking about everything that happened yesterday with Halvo. I thought about the look on his face when he told me that he 'couldn't do this right now.' It hurt worse today than it did yesterday. Tears started rolling down my cheeks, and I sat down in the shower, hugging my knees to my chest for comfort, rocking back and forth. I needed Eric in my life. Without him, I don't think I can fully function. I have gotten used to being with him almost every day. Now what was I going to do? I had Kennedy, and I had Julia, but Julia had Pat. Kennedy wasn't going to always be around to hang out with whenever I wanted. He was bound to get snagged soon, he was a catch, I wasn't just going to lie. The shower started to get cold, but I didn't care. I wasn't ready to come out and face the rest of the world right now. I don't know how long I was in there, but it had to have been a while. I heard a knock on the door, but didn't trust myself enough to answer. My voice would have been shaky, and then Kennedy would know what a pansy I was. The knocking ensued but I just stayed still, sitting in the shower, bawling my eyes out. I heard the door crack open, and Kennedy say my name. I didn't reply, I couldn't.

"Peyton, what the hell?" he asked, sounding concerned. I heard footsteps on the hardwood floor. I tried to suck in a breath of air, but it all came rushing in, and I gasped. Of course, Kenny heard me.

"Peyton, if you don't answer me, I will come in there. Don't think I won't."

"K-Ken-" I sobbed. That was all it took. He threw open the shower curtain and took in the scene in front of him. Normally, I would have been embarrassed to have someone look at me in this state, nude and vulnerable. But right now, I didn't care. It's not like he could see anything anyway. He shut the water off and grabbed a towel. My teeth were chattering loudly, and I was shaking uncontrollably. Kennedy wrapped the oversized towel around me and lifted me out of the shower with ease. He fastened the towel so that it wouldn't slide off. He started to rub another towel over the exposed parts of my body to bring me warmth.

"K-K-Kennedy, I- I'm a m-mess." I stated the obvious.

"Things will blow over Peyton. Don't bum yourself out. Everything will work out the way it's supposed to. I promise," he smiled at me, still rubbing the towel over my arms. I nodded, but didn't say anything. He kissed my forehead and pulled me into a hug.

"You are the best." I sighed, and wrapped my arms around him. He was my rock, and I needed him to get through this. I know Eric and I didn't date for that long, but I have been pining over the guy for two years now. This wound was deep, and only time would heal it.

"Get dressed. We need fun tonight," he stated, pulling away slowly. I nodded.

"No alcohol!" I replied, wiping the mirror off with the extra towel.

"No alcohol," he repeated, leaving the bathroom and closing the door.

I grabbed the black cut offs off of the counter and slipped them over my legs and pulled them up, pairing them with the tank top that I stole from Kennedy's closet. I grabbed the purple belt off of the counter, and threaded them through the belt loops to hold the pants up. I looked under the counter to see if he had any hair product I could use so that my hair didn't end up looking like a poodle. I couldn't find any. I sighed. They had to have some somewhere, they were boys in a band. Maybe John had some. I sighed and pushed the door open, heading for John's room. I knocked on the door and poked my head in since the door was already open. Kennedy was in there talking to him about something, and the both stopped talking and turned to look at me. I cleared my throat.

"Hey John, do you have anything I could put in my hair. Like gel or any kind of product?"

"Yup," was all he said.

"Could I possibly-"

"In the bathroom," he cut me off, gesturing to his bathroom. I nodded and headed to the direction he pointed. I had never been in John's room or bathroom. It was weird. He had a lot of different hair products. I knew guys in bands had to have great hair, it was like a requirement, but I still found it weird as to exactly how many bottles of junk he had. I grabbed some mousse and squirted it in my palm. I ran my fingers through my long hair, making sure I got every square inch. This stuff smelt like John, and I kind of liked it. I exited the bathroom and the guys stopped talking again, looking at me. John started strumming lightly on the guitar he was holding, clearly uncomfortable.

"So… what's the plan?" I asked.

"Pre-tour sleepover." Kennedy answered, a huge smile on his face. I smiled back. John looked indifferent. He just kept staring at different things in the room, never once looking at me.

"Where?" I asked, curious.

"Pat's." Kennedy answered. I nodded.

"Sounds like a good time." I answered, slowly walking towards the guys. John tensed up and stopped strumming.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Mhm." He replied. I hated that. Whenever anyone said "mhm" it made me want to kill them. It was the worst thing a person could say to me. Kennedy knew this, and he looked at me, a sad look on his face. He shrugged and then started walking out of the room. I started to follow him but John stopped me.

"Hey, Peyton wait." I stopped walking and turned around, looking at him. "I just wanted to say that I am sorry that I ruined your date with Halvo," he mumbled and then sighed. "It was just killing me. I know you hate me and everything. You made that perfectly clear last night and that kind of hurts a little bit, but I understand."

"Halvo broke up with me," I stated slowly. John's eyes widened, and he put his guitar down and stood up.

"I don't believe that! He was so into you. That's why I thought it would be okay to tell him. I thought you guys were in it to win it."

"Apparently not," I shrugged, trying to manage a smile, but failing miserably, feeling my eyes starting to water.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back," he said, starting to walk closer to me. I held back the tears and shot my hands out to stop him.

"What's done is done. You can't take it back, not the kiss, not the text. Not any of it. I want nothing more than to kick you in the face right now. Just, stay away from me. For now. Please. " I nodded and turned around and walked out of the room.

"That's going to be hard since you're going on tour with us," he said loud enough for me to hear. I rolled my eyes.

"Just try really hard," I yelled back, walking into the kitchen. I saw my phone. I picked it up and turned it back on. I tapped my fingers on the table as it loaded. 16 missed calls flashed on the screen. I sighed and thumbed through them all. Fifteen of them were from Halvo. One of them was from my mom. What to do? What to do?

"Kenny!" I yelled out. He came running down the hallway and slid in his socks, coming to a stop in front of the kitchen door. He was shirtless and wet. I was speechless.

"Yes dear?" he asked, towel drying his hair. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Uh, Eric called me fifteen times. Should I call him back?" I asked, my eyes trailing down his body.

"Yes. He obviously wants to talk to you." he stated slowly. I just nodded and picked up my phone to call him. Kennedy went back to getting ready. I dialed the number I knew from heart and waited. And waited.

"Greetings! You have dialed this number and reached the voicemail of Eric James Halvorsen!" my voice rang through the speaker as his voicemail kicked in. "I am obviously busy," he chimed in. "Because he is more than likely spending all of his time with me!" I heard my voice again. I remember recording this, sitting on his bed, wrestling each other for the phone. I heard my giggles in the background, Halvo tickled me to steal the phone away. "Anyway! Leave your junk after the beep and I will fo sho get back to you." he said. "HE LIES!" I heard myself yell in the background. I wanted to smile and cry at the same time. I didn't want to hear this right now, so I hung my phone up, and laid my head down on the counter.

"Kennedy, hurry up." I yelled. I wanted to get the hell out of this house. I was suddenly feeling very trapped. He appeared a few minutes later with his car keys in hand, ready to go.

"8 o'clock John. It's mandatory!" he yelled out as we walked out of the door. We hopped into his car and he backed out of the driveway skillfully.

"Like a boss!" he said. "I could back out of that thing without even looking. I have been doing it every day for so long. That house used to be my parents."

"Really? That's pretty cool. I didn't know it used to be your parents. As for the backing out without looking, we should totally test that sometime," I replied. Kenny never talked about his parents. I knew he changed his name because of family issues, but I never pressed the subject. Soon enough, we were at Patrick's house, and I was ready for fun. Only thing was, I couldn't have fun until I talked to Julia about everything that went down. We still needed to pack before we go on tour tomorrow. We pulled into Pat's driveway and walked the short distance to door. Kenny gave me a smile as he knocked on the door. He knew I needed fun. The door slowly opened, and there stood Patrick Kirch. We talked for a minute, until he told us to hang on. A minute later Julie came to the door. What was she doing here?

"Hey Julie," Kenny and I said in unison.

"…What're you doing here?" she asked us.

"The better question is what're YOU doing here?" I said, eyeing her from head to toe, trying to hold in the squeal of joy I was dying to let escape.

"I had a sleep over with my best friend," she replied, putting her hand on Pat's shoulder. 

"Uh huh. I'm sure that's what it was," Kenny said, raising an eyebrow at them. 

"Yup. What, did you expect us to just make out the whole night?" Pat asked with a laugh. Yes. 

"True. Well, you know, we leave for tour tomorrow," Kenny started.

"Yes, this is true," Julie said. He shot her a 'shut the fuck up' look.

"What about it?" she asked, with a chuckle.

"Well, this genius right here thought of an awesome idea," I stated, pointing to Kenny.

"Which is…?" Pat asked.

Kenny and I looked at each other. Then we both yelled, "BAND SLEEPOVER!"

"That's an awesome idea!" Julie replied, smiling. "Where at?" Kenny and I looked at Pat.

"Oh no, I don't think I could handle that," he said, shaking his head.

"Oh come on. You have the biggest place…and I promise no alcohol," I swore to him, putting my hand up beside

me, doing the sign for "scouts honor". Kennedy put his hand up, too.

"I second that." Kenny stated, with all the seriousness he could muster. I tried not to giggle.

Pat let out a long drawn sigh. "Fine." We all smiled. He was so easy.

"Okay, well, I have my things in the car," Kennedy said. He tossed his keys to me. "Drive you and Julie to your

place and get your shit. Pat and I will go get goodies."

I grabbed the keys and before I knew it we were at our apartment. I hadn't been there since yesterday when I

was getting ready for the date. I sighed and walked into the apartment, throwing the keys on the counter. Julie

went straight to her room and started packing, so I guess that's what I would do. What does one take on tour?

Clothes. Check. Make-up. Check. Toiletries. Check. Perfume for when I didn't get to shower. Check. Laptop.

Check. I packed all of my stuff and then changed into my own clothes. I can only imagine what it looked like

showing up to Pat's place in Kennedy's clothes. Everyone knew it wasn't like that with us though, so I guess it

didn't really matter. I checked my room to make sure I had everything and then dragged my suitcase towards the

door. Julia was already done, so I plopped down next to her on the couch.

"This is insane," she said.

"I know… out of all the people… we're going on tour with The Maine," she replied.

"Do you wanna tell me how the date went?"

"The date…" I contemplated on how to tell her. "Before I tell you about the date, there's something else that I

need to tell you."

"Okay," she replied, looking lost.

"That first day that the boys came over, and John went outside and I followed him," I started. She nodded,

remembering. "Well. He kissed me." Her eyes got really wide.

"And you are just now telling me about this, why?" she asked, looking hurt.

"I just thought that if I ignored it, it would go away. I wanted to pretend like it didn't happen. That same day was

the day that Halvo and became official and I just… I don't know," I trailed off, suddenly feeling horrible for not

telling Julie.

"You are forgiven. This time," she smiled. I returned the smile and sighed, thankful that she was so forgiving.

"Well. The date was perfect. The set up was amazing, lights everywhere, Santino as our waiter." I smiled thinking

of all of the memories I had made last night, until they got crushed.

"Then John decides it's a good idea to text Halvo and tell him about the kiss because he 'felt bad,"' I said, using air quotes.

"So he straight up ruined the date," she said, shaking her head. I nodded.

"Halvo broke up with me," I told her after a moment of silence. I wasn't going to cry this time. I don't think I even had any tears left.

"Oh Peyton…" was all she could say. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. I suddenly realized how much time we don't spend together anymore. She has Pat, and I have Halvo and Kennedy. Well, I _had_ Halvo. She released me and I sat back.

"If John says one thing tonight that rubs me the wrong way, I will stab him," I stated. Julia laughed, but she knew I was totally serious.

"He's not that stupid. I'm sure he knows he's your least favorite person right now."

"That's just it. I want him to be, but he's not."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought that telling him to leave me alone would make me feel better, you know. I thought that pushing him away would be best. Truth be told Jules, I think I have feelings for him," I stated, thinking about the moment we had by the swings a month ago. That moment stuck with me every day, even when I was with Halvo. I kept suppressing the memory every time it snuck up on me. It was easy when I had Eric, now I don't.

"Feelings. For John O'Callaghan." Julia said slowly. "Is it because he is hot? I mean other than that, if someone ruined my relationship because they had to get something off of their chest, I would kill the son of a bitch," she stated, matter-of-factly. I sighed and buried my face in the throw pillow.

"Well…" I said, dropping the pillow and looking at Julie, "It's like, Eric was fun, you know. We had a great time together, he was funny and charming. He was just… Halvo," I said, and Julia nodded, understanding exactly what I meant, "but John is something totally different. I have never met another guy like him. He is deep, and thoughtful. He's artistic, and strong willed, and… just the complete opposite of Halvo I guess," I shrugged. "Not that that's why I like him. He's just, intriguing, I suppose."

"Right…" she said. "Well, have you talked to Eric today?"

"No. He called me 15 times last night, and I tried to call him back, but he didn't answer." I shrugged and looked at my phone. "I've just decided. I am leaving my cell phone here."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yup. Everyone I need to talk to is on tour, minus my dad. But I can borrow someone else's phone to call him."

"You know, that sounds like a good idea," she replied. We both dropped our phones on the table and stood up.

"So, what happened with you and Patty Cakes last night?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Tell you on the way back," she smiled, grabbing the keys and her luggage. We both turned around to look at our apartment. "See you in a month!" I said, slowly shutting and locking the door behind me.

We climbed our asses into the car and started to head back to Patrick's humble abode.

"So…" I started, trying to get something out of Julia.

"So?" she replied.

"Patty Cakes?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the road. She chuckled.

"Well, you see, we made out like there was no tomorrow." I laughed, and got really excited.

"Are we going to hear the pitter patter of little rat boy feet?"

"No… well… I don't… No." she stammered.

"So how was it on a scale of one to ten." I asked, curiously. She took her time in answering.

"It was a twenty," she stated.

We arrived back at Pat's house and grabbed our crap out of the back of my car.

"PARTY TIME!" I screamed, busting through the door. Everyone was there, and they were sitting in a circle on the floor.

"Guys, you can't play spin the bottle without girls," I stated, "Unless… Oh god Jules, I don't think we should go on tour with a band full of fruitcakes." I said setting my bags by the front door. Julia let out a small laugh, and before I knew it, something neon pink came soaring through the air. Before I had time to retaliate, a sock collided with my face and I could feel myself start to gag as the smell of buttered popcorn became apparent. Only one person's feet smelled like buttered popcorn.

"JOHN!" I yelled.

"Tehee," was all he replied with, such a girly laugh.

'TRUTH OR DARE," Jared fist-pumped.

"Kay, be right back," I stated, turning and walking to the bathroom to wash my face off. When I returned, everyone in the living room was fist pumping, except for Julia, who was moving to sit between Garrett and Pat. I took my seat awkwardly, between John and Kennedy. It was the only place where there was enough room to fit my large ass. The boys stopped fist pumping. It was hard to believe that they we were all over twenty years of age. They acted twelve, and I loved it.

"Let's play," Garret said, in a Mickey Mouse voice. I giggled. "Jared, truth or dare?" he asked. Jared contemplated for a moment.

"Truth," he answered.

"Who in the band would you, Jared Monoco, go gay for?" Jared wasted no time in answering.

"You!" he replied, smiling at Garrett. Garrett laughed and playfully winked at Jared.

"That's it! We aren't going on tour with you flaming homosexuals anymore!" Julia said, totally kidding. There went the other pink sock, flying across the room, hitting Julia smack dab in the middle of the face.

"John, why do you have pink socks?" I asked.

"Why do you have a big ass?" he asked, rather rudely. I rolled my eyes.

Kennedy leaned over and whispered in my ear, "It's okay, he has a small dick." I laughed so hard, I fell over.

"Back to game," Jared stated. "Julia! Truth or dare?" he asked.

"Dare," she shot back, without a moment's hesitation.

"I dare you to… hey Pat, do you have any whipped cream?" he asked, looking at Pat.

"Uh duh, of course I do. What kind of question is that?" he replied. Jared went to the refrigerator and came back with a can of whipped cream.

"Jesus, what are you going to make me do," she asked scared.

"Well, you are going to lick this here whipped cream off of Peyton's stomach," he said. A cheer erupted from all of the boys. Lesbian action was about to happen. Awesome. Kenny grabbed the can of whipped cream and made me lay down in the middle of the circle. I lifted my shirt slightly so that he could have access to my stomach.

"TAKE IT OFF," Garrett yelled, and soon all of the boys joined in, except Kennedy. He was concentrating on spraying the whipped cream down my stomach. He cleared his throat and stepped away as Julia leaned in.

"Lick it off! Lick it off!" Pat started chanting, and soon everybody joined in, even me. All I can say for this experience was that it tickled. I'm sure all of the boys were hard. Good times, good times.

"Okay, it's all gone." Julia said, backing away from me. That was not awkward at all…

"Excuse me," Garrett said, making his way to the bathroom. Oh god.

Everyone erupted into laughter. I wiped my stomach off and went to sit back down.

A few minutes later, Garrett returned and we continued our friendly game of truth or dare.

"Hmmmmmm… Kenny," Julia said, pointing at him, "truth or dare?"

"I suppose, truth," he answered.

"Well, hmmmm. What would you do to Peyton for a Klondike Bar?" she asked.

"Oooooh's" erupted from all of the guys.

"I would… I would… do anything you wanted me to," he looked over at me, and I blushed like a big fatty fegget.

"I have Klondike Bars in my freezer," Pat said. Everyone had a mischievous smile on their face, except Kenny and I. I looked at him and he looked uncomfortable, and I imagine I looked about the same.

"Just kiss her," Julia said. He looked at me, his eyes saying he was sorry and he leaned in and slowly pressed his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. The kiss was over way too soon and Kennedy pulled back.

"Now, Klondike Bar, Ratboy," he said. I love how his truth turned into a dare.

"Okay, okay," he said walking into the kitchen to get the sweet candy treat. I just stared straight ahead. I had no idea what just happened, but I wanted it to happen again. Kennedy kissed me. Yes, it was a dare, but I didn't plan on feeling the way currently did. I wanted to take him to the back room, strip him down and make him call me Big Papa. I wasn't even kidding. I went from liking one guy, to liking three all within a month. I felt like the sluttiest virgin to ever live. I was the sluttiest virgin ever to live.

"Okay John," Kennedy said looking over at him, as if nothing had just happened between us.

"Hmmph," he mumbled, looking up. It didn't look like he was paying attention, or ignoring what had just happened between Kenny and me. Or he was and was just really uncomfortable. Good.

"Truth or dare buddy?" Kennedy asked, catching the Klondike Bar thrown to him by Patrick.

"Dare."

"I dare you to…. Change outfits with Peyton."

"Like, everything?" I asked.

"Yeah, shirts, pants, undies, everything… But don't do it in here. Go into Pat's room and do it." I awkwardly stood up and helped John up from his seated position. I could have killed Kennedy. He knew how I felt about John right now. Kennedy was the peace keeper, and I imagine he had planned this from the start. We started walking back to Pat's room and I shut the door once both of us were inside. I cleared my throat awkwardly as John pulled his shirt off. He was gorgeous, couldn't argue with that.

"I don't care what they say," I started, "but we are not trading undies, buddy. That is just one step too far for me." I chuckled. He laughed and nodded.

"Thank god," he replied, "because I don't think I could pull off women's underwear."

"Oh you could probably wear these," I mumbled under my breath. Of course, being the loud person I was, he heard me.

"I could what?" he asked. I blushed and shook my head.

"Nothing."

"No, tell me," he demanded. I hesitated.

"I'm… wearing… granny panties." I mumbled. He erupted into a fit of laughter and fell back on the bed. "It's not funny! I packed all of my good undies for tour, and these were about all I had left…" I sighed, wishing I hadn't said anything.

"Let me see them," he said, in between laughs.

"NO," I said, mortified.

"Fine, fine," he chuckled, sitting up and tossing his shirt at me. I pulled my shirt off and threw it at him, suddenly feeling very grateful I at least wore a cute bra. I tossed his Glamour Kills shirt on as he put on my Little Mermaid classic T-shirt. It was, may I say, the most adorable thing I have ever seen. It was way too short for him, and showed off a good couple of inches of nothing but abs. His shirt was a little long on me, but that wasn't a problem. He started to slide his pants down, and I suddenly thought of all of the fan girls who would kill to be here right now, in the same room as 'The John O'Callaghan' losing his pants. I smiled to myself, and of course it didn't go unnoticed.

"What?" he asked, pausing.

"Nothing, just… thinking?" I replied, not sure of a good way to put. He nodded and pulled his pants off, showing off his Cousin Skeeter boxers.

"Nice," I replied.

"Oh, well this is embarrassing," he stated, clearly forgetting which underwear he put on this morning. I laughed so hard I doubled over, clutching my stomach.

"Ha ha, I know, it's downright hilarious. Give me your pants," he mumbled looking down at the ground. I smiled and unbuttoned my skinny jeans, sliding them off and throwing them at John, hitting him in the face. He pulled them off and looked at me. I lifted his shirt a little bit and did a twirl as I showed off my peach colored granny panties, they even sagged in the back. Every girl had them, they were comfortable. He let out a low wolf-whistle and grinned.

"Only you could make those look sexy Peyton," he stated. I think he was serious. I awkwardly reached for John's jeans and pulled them up over my legs. One problem, John is tiny. My ass, is not. I yanked and tugged, and suddenly felt like a fat failure. I sighed.

"Um Peyton…" he started.

"Don't!" I said, not wanting to be embarrassed anymore.

"But…" he started.

"SHHHHH." I retaliated.

"You have to unbutton them." He stated simply.

"Oh." Fail. I did as he said, and then pulled them up all the way. Great. I am dumb.

"Yeah," he winked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Peyton, later, I think we should talk," he said, looking awkwardly at the ground. "I don't want to go on tour and have you hating me. That wouldn't be good for anybody. It would just make everyone uncomfortable and I just-"

"I'm over it John. I understand why you did it. It's hard to stay mad at you. Things wouldn't have been so bad if I would have told him about it from the beginning. I will live, Halvo will live, you will live. Life goes on." I replied, grabbing his hand lightly and leading him through the door. He smiled and nodded, following me into the living. I dropped his hand as I rounded the corner.

"Hey guys, does this shirt make me look fat?" he asked everyone, slowly turning in a circle so they could see. I giggled and sat back down next to Kennedy.

"John, those look like they would be your clothes," Pat said, walking back into the living room and taking his spot along with Julia.

"Do I see Cousin Skeeter boxers?" Julia asked. Of course she would see them. She loved Cousin Skeeter. She thought it was the most underrated Nickelodeon shirt ever.

"Fuck yeah," he replied.

"That may be the sexiest thing I have ever seen," she swooned. I giggled again. I was having more fun than I have had in a long time. I needed this. For the past few years I had only had Julia and my family. I never realized how important friends were.

"Alright, Garrett, truth or dare." John asked.

"Definitely dare," he answered.

"Well, I dare you to give Patrick Kirch a lap dance. With no shirt on," John smirked.

"That won't be a problem," Garrett replied, swiftly ripping his shirt off in the process. Then he did things to Pat that I never wanted to see anybody do to anybody else. He was skilled.

"Damn Garrett, where'd you learn those moves?" I asked, laughing.

"I got it from my momma!" he sang, while he put his shirt back on and took his seat next to Jared.

"Alright, Peyton, truth or dare?"

"I'll do dare, I guess. Just don't make me lick someone's ass hole," I said. I had seen that one done one too many times. Don't ask.

"Okay. I dare you to stand up, and hold your arms out," Garrett stated. Well. That seemed easy enough.

"Uh…okay?" I said, standing up and doing what I was told.

"Now," he looked around the circle, "Kennedy, throw one of John's socks at her. Whatever it hits, she has to take that article of clothing off." Shit. Not the pants, not the pants.

"Okay, John, throw me a sock," Kenny said to him. He tossed one to him.

"Go for her pants," John smirked. Fuck him.

"NO," I yelled, pleading, "Anything but the pants. Please."

"Alright, here we…go," Kenny said. He held out his arm and squinted one eye, getting his aim ready.

"And…fire!" I closed my eyes and silently prayed that it didn't hit my pants. Then I felt it.

"YEAH!" all the boys shouted when the sock hit my leg and I sighed, slowly taking off the pants. I threw them at John, since they were his, and hit him in the face again. Then Julia busted into a fit of hysterics.

"Are those…granny…panties?"

"They were all I had okay?" I said, sitting back down. Drop it, please. "Okay…uh…Pat, truth or dare?"

"Uh…I guess dare," he replied, still laughing.

"Okay…" I said, looking around the circle, my eyes stopping on Julie. "I dare you to…"

"To?" Pat asked.

"To…keep your hand on JuJu's boob the whole rest of the game. Make sure you get a good grip," I said, smiling at Julia. She could thank me later.

"Excuse me?" she said, looking at me.

"Ha-ha, no problem!" he said, reaching over and placing his hand on her forbidden zone and the then he squeezed it a few times. I almost died.

"Unnecessary!" she yelled at him. Yeah right, she liked it.

"She said I had to have a good grip," he said with a smirk. She just giggled.

"Hmm," he started, "Jared. Truth or dare?"

"Hit me with a dare," he replied.

"I dare you…to…do the Macarena in nothing but your boxers."

"No problem!" He swiftly took off his shirt and pants and did the damned thing. We all died. Pat and Julie had their phones out recording. Say hello to Buzznet, Jared. When he was done, he didn't even bother putting his pants back on, he just took his spot in the circle. At least I wasn't alone in being half naked anymore. He looked around at everyone and finally stopped when he got to me.

"Hey Pey, truth or dare?"

"I'll just go with truth," I replied softly, staring at John. He had been looking at me for the past minute or so. Intriguing.

"Alright, pansy. When was the last time you looked at someone and thought solely about sexual things, and who was it?" he asked. Oh fuck. Right now.

"Oooooh," Pat added. I felt my cheeks start to heat up.

"Well, um. Earlier….I….John…." I stammered. I didn't want to answer this. Everyone looked over at John, who was probably as red as I was.

"Ooh la la," Garrett said.

"Um...um...Julia, truth or dare?" I asked her, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Humph…..dare!" She replied.

"Okay, okay…I dare you to….go take off all your clothes and make an outfit out of a towel."

"What kind of dare is that?" she asked, standing up. Pat stood up with her, seeing as his hand was still resting happily on her boob. "Uh…what are you doing?" she asked.

"I have to keep my hand on your boob at all times," he said with a smirk on his face. She looked at me and glared.

"He does, Julia." I sighed, not knowing if she was really mad or not.

"Fine, okay," she said, leading Pat stumbling behind her to the bathroom.

"That's going to be awkward for poor Pat," Kennedy said, laying back on the floor. I laid back too and smiled.

"Nah, they both wanted to go in there, don't believe for a second otherwise," I replied, looking up at the ceiling, over at Kennedy, at my nails, anywhere that wasn't John. I could feel his gaze boring a hole into me though, and I tried so hard to fight the urge to take a gander at him. I tried so hard, but I failed. I looked over at him, and he smiled that crooked smile of his, and that was it. My stomach started doing flips and I smiled back. I heard the bathroom door open and then Julia and Pat walked back in. I started laughing at how uncomfortable she looked.

"Uh, anyways, Garrett, truth or dare?" she asked.

"Dare!" he replied eagerly.

"I dare you to…spank Jared like he was your student, and you had a secret relationship with him."

"Okay, okay, stand up Jared," he told him, also standing up. Jared popped up, a little too eager, bending over.

"Now…are you ready for some…extra credit?" Garrett pulled his hand back and spanked Jared really hard. Jared yelped then softly said, "Please sir..another?" I giggled, I loved my friends.

After all that, they sat back down. Garret looked over at Pat and asked, "Truth or dare Pat?"

"Uh….dare I guess," he said. He wasn't paying much attention anymore.

"I dare you to…. to cover your dick with something in the house, then go outside to the mailbox, touch it, yodel for 5 seconds, then come back in." Kennedy started laughing hysterically and I chuckled. I loved his laugh. Soon everyone joined in, except Patrick.

"Shit no, I'm not doing that!" he yelled at him, crossing his arms. I rarely ever hear Pat curse, so he really didn't want to do this one.

"Oh come on, Krabby Patty," I said to him, using the nickname he hated. 

"No. No, no, no, no, no."

Not five minutes later, Pat was standing at the door with a napkin covering his man business and nothing covering his behind. "Okay, everyone ready?"

"Yes, yes, go," John said to him.

Pat ran out the door and went for the mailbox, but tripped in the yard. He quickly got up, dropping the only shield his manhood had from the world, and put his hand on the mailbox. "YODEL YEY HE HOO," he yodeled, making it last five seconds, then he ran back inside, closing the door behind him. He ran into the bathroom while the rest of us were literally on the floor, dying.

Our game ended shortly after that, and eventually we were all piled onto one big sheet in the floor. I was in between Kennedy and John. What is my life? I could hear Pat and Julia whispering, but I decided not to listen in, it wasn't my business.

I looked over at Kenny, his hair hanging over his face, his mouth open, lightly drooling on the pillow. He kicked one of his legs over mine, our usual sleeping position. I smiled and looked over at John. He too, was already asleep, and I couldn't help but stare at how incredibly gorgeous he was. Halvo wasn't lying when he said that John was walking sex. The next thing I knew, John threw his arm over my torso and nuzzled into my neck. I sighed and stared at the ceiling. This was going to be the first of many sleepless nights to come, I could already tell.


	13. Everything Is Alright

"The better question is what're YOU doing here?" Peyton said to me. Her and Kennedy walked in and sat down on the couch.

"I had a sleep over with my best friend," I replied, resting my arm on Pat's shoulder. 

"Uh huh. I'm sure that's what it was," Kenny said, raising an eyebrow at us. 

"Yup. What, did you expect us to just make out the whole night?" Pat asked with a laugh. 

_That…is sort of all we did._ I thought to myself. Oh well. I'm sure he wasn't going to mention that to them, so I wasn't

either. 

"True. Well, you know, we leave for tour tomorrow," Kenny started. 

"Yes, this is true," I said. He shot me a 'shut the fuck up' look. I let out a chuckle. "What about it?

"Well, this genius right here thought of an awesome idea," Peyton stated, pointing to Kennedy. 

"Which is…?" Pat asked. 

Kennedy and Peyton looked at each other before yelling, "BAND SLEEPOVER!" 

"That's an awesome idea!" I said with a huge smile on my face. "Where at?" 

They looked at Pat. "Oh no, I don't think I could handle that," he said, shaking his head. 

"Oh come on. You have the biggest place…and I promise no alcohol," Peyton swore, putting her hand up beside her. Kennedy put his hand up, too. 

"I second that." 

Pat let out a long drawn sigh. "Fine." Kenny, Peyton, and I all smiled. 

"Okay, well, I have my things in the car," Kennedy said. He tossed his keys to Peyton. "Drive you and Julie to your place and get your shit. Pat and I will go get goodies." 

Peyton and I arrived to our apartment a few minutes later. This was really happening…I was going on tour with The Maine for the next month! I went into my room, set out a suitcase, and looked around for what to pack. I put in some tank tops, shorts, a lot of deodorant and perfume, and some other clothes and necessities. I zipped it closed and took it into the living room and sat down on the couch, waiting for Peyton to come out. 

After a few minutes, she finally came out. She put her stuff beside mine at the door and sat down beside me. 

"This is insane," I said, looking into her direction. 

"I know… out of all the people… we're going on tour with The Maine," she replied. 

"Do you wanna tell me how the date went?" 

"The date…"she said, then paused. She continued after a few seconds. "Before I tell you about the date, there's something that I need to tell you." 

"Okay," I said. I was a tad bit confused. 

"That first day that the boys came over, and John went outside and I followed him," she began. "Well. He kissed me."

…Well, that was unexpected. I'm sure it looked like my eyes were about to pop out of my head. 

"And you are just now telling me about this, why?" I asked her. Why hadn't she told me earlier? 

"I just thought that if I ignored it, it would go away. I wanted to pretend like it didn't happen. That same day was the day that Halvo and became official, and I just… I don't know," she trailed off.

"You are forgiven. This time," I said smiling. She smiled back and let out a sigh. 

"Well. The date was perfect. The set up was amazing, lights everywhere, Santino as our waiter." She smiled after saying that, but then it fade into a small frown. 

"Then John decides it's a good idea to text Halvo and tell him about the kiss because he 'felt bad,"' she said, using finger quotes. 

"So he straight up ruined the date," I stated. That John… 

"Halvo broke up with me," she randomly stated. I stared at her. She had a thing for him forever…just like I did with Cameron. Everything goes so perfectly and then all of a sudden the best thing to happen to you is over… 

"Oh Peyton…" was all that came out of my mouth. I pulled her in for a hug. Peyton and I, we usually know what each other is feeling. I pulled back. 

"If John says one thing tonight that rubs me the wrong way, I will stab him," she stated. I let out a laugh. I knew she was serious. 

"He's not that stupid. I'm sure he knows he's your least favorite person right now." 

"That's just it. I want him to be, but he's not." 

"What do you mean?" I asked her. 

"I thought that telling him to leave me alone would make me feel better, you know. I thought that pushing him away would be best. Truth be told Jules, I think I have feelings for him," she said. I thought about that for a second. 

"Feelings. For John O'Callaghan." I said slowly. "Is it because he is hot? I mean other than that, if someone ruined my relationship because they had to get something off of their chest, I would kill the son of a bitch." Peyton let out a sign and buried her face into a throw pillow. 

"Well…" she said, dropping the pillow and looking at me, "It's like, Eric was fun, you know. We had a great time together, he was funny and charming. He was just… Halvo…but John is something totally different. I have never met another guy like him. He is deep, and thoughtful. He's artistic, and strong willed, and… just the complete opposite of Halvo I guess. Not that that's why I like him. He's just, intriguing, I suppose." 

"Right…" I said. "Well, have you talked to Eric today?" 

"No. He called me 15 times last night, and I tried to call him back, but he didn't answer," she said with a shrug. She then looked at her phone for a good minute. "I've just decided. I am leaving my cell phone here." 

"Really?" I asked her. That was unexpected, also. 

"Yup. Everyone I need to talk to is on tour, minus my dad. But I can borrow someone else's phone to call him." I thought about it for a minute. The only reason I would take my phone is incase Cameron decided to call me, and I doubt he would, since he hasn't by now. I needed to get over this. 

"You know, that sounds like a good idea," I replied. We both turned off our phones and dropped them on the coffee table. We then stood up and grabbed our bags. 

"So, what happened with you and Patty Cakes last night?" she asked. She did some weird shit with her eyebrows at me. 

"Tell you on the way back," I said with a smile. I grabbed the keys and we looked behind us. 

"See you in a month!" she said. We walked out and she shut the door. She took the key to the apartment out of her pocket and locked the door. Goodbye home.

We got in the car and started to drive back to Pat's place. 

"So…" Peyton started, keeping her eyes on the road. 

"So?" I said to her with a smirk on my face. I knew what she was going to ask. 

"Patty Cakes?" she asked. I let a small chuckled. 

"Well, you see," I started, "we made out like there was no tomorrow." 

"Are we going to hear the pitter-patter of little Rat Boy feet?" 

"No…well…I don't…no." I didn't know. I didn't know what to think of last night. 

"So, how was it on a scale of 1-10?" she asked. 

I looked out the window. I never thought of Pat as more than a best friend, but last night…I smiled softly to myself and gave her an answer. 

"It was a 20."

We arrived back at Pat's house a few minutes later. We both grabbed our shit and headed for the door. 

"Party time!" Peyton yelled as I opened the door. All the boys were there…but they were sitting in a circle. Why? Who knows. "Guys, you can't play spin the bottle without girls, unless…oh god, Jules, I don't think we should go on tour with a band full of fruit cakes." 

I let out a chuckled, and as I did, a neon pink sock went flying through the air. It landed on Peyton's face. This made me laugh even harder, as were the boys of The Maine. 

"JOHN!" she screamed. 

"Tee hee," he replied. …How gay. 

"TRUTH OR DARE!" Jared said, followed with a fist pump. Then the rest of the boys joined in with the fist pumping. 

"Kay, be right back," Peyton said, leaving to go to bathroom. I took a seat in between Pat and Garrett. No one said anything to me as I sat down, they just fist pumping. …It was odd. 

Peyton shortly returned from the bathroom to enter the room. The boys were still fist pumping. Who knows why. She awkwardly sat down in between John Ohh and Kenny, and when they did they stopped with the pumping of the fist. How old were they again? Oh yeah, twenty plus. 

"Let's play!" Garrett said in a Mickey Mouse voice. I laughed. "JARED! Truth or dare?" he asked.  
Jared thought about it for a moment before answering, "Truth." 

"Hmm…" Garrett said. There was a long pause. "Who in the bad would you, Jared Monoco, go gay for?" 

"You!" Jared answered with no hesitation. Garrett smiled at him and winked. 

"That's it! We aren't going on tour with you flaming homosexuals anymore," I joked. Then suddenly, I got a face full of pink sock. It smelled like butter popcorn. Thanks, John. I quickly took the sock of my face and threw it behind me so it couldn't get to it. 

"John, why do you have pink socks?" Peyton asked. 

"Why do you have a big ass?" he replied with. Well then. Peyton rolled her eyes at him. Then, Kennedy whispered something to her and she started laughing. I'm sure it had to do with John's dick. 

"Back to the game," Jared stated. He looked at me "Julia, truth or dare?" 

"Dare!" I said back. I hope it wasn't too bad. 

"I dare you to…Hey Pat! Do you have any whipped cream?" he asked, turning his direction towards Pat. 

"Of course I do," Pat replied. "What kind of question is that?" 

Jared walked into the kitchen. He returned a few seconds later with whipped cream. 

"Jesus, what are you going to make me do?" I asked, a little scared. 

"Well," Jared started, "You are going to lick this whipped cream off of Peyton's stomach." Cheers came from the boys. Oh god. 

Kennedy grabbed the can of whipped cream from Jared. He motioned for Peyton to lay down in the middle of circle, which she did. She lifted her shirt just under her tits so he could have access to her tummy. 

"Take it off!" Garrett yelled. Then all the boys joined in except Kennedy, who was dispensing the whipped cream on Peyton's stomach. I crawled beside her in the middle of the circle. I leaned in to where my face was very close to the whipped cream. I hesitated to lick it up, but Pat decided to start a chant. "Lick it off! Lick it off!" Soon everyone joined in, including Peyton. 

I stuck out my tongue and placed it at the bottom her stomach. I'll spare some details and just say eventually all of the whipped cream was gone. 

"Okay, it is all gone," I stated, backing away from Peyton's tummy. 

"Excuse me," Garrett said, making his way to the bathroom. Everyone in the room busted into laughter. A few minutes later Garrett returned and we continued our game of truth and dare, and it was my turn to ask. 

"Hmmmm...Kenny," I said, pointing at him, "truth or dare?" 

"I suppose truth," he replied. 

"Well. … Hmm." I wasn't good at giving truths. I had to think about for a minute… "What would you do to Peyton for a Klondike bar?" 

"Ooooooh"s erupted in the room. 

"I would…I would…do anything you wanted me to," he said, eyeing Peyton. She was blushing, I could tell. 

"I have Klondike Bars in my freezer," Pat started. A small smirk formed over everyone's face, except Kennedy's and Peyton's. 

He let out a sigh. "What do I have to do?" 

"Just kiss her," I said. 

"Alrighty then." He leaned over to her and kissed her. Shwing. "Now, Klondike Bar, Rat Boy." 

"Okay, okay," Pat said, going into the kitchen. 

"Okay, John?" Kennedy said, looking over at him. 

"Hmmph?" he mumbled, looking up. It didn't look like he was paying attention to what just happened. 

"Truth or dare, buddy," Kennedy ask him. At this time, Pat reentered the living room, tossing Kenny the treat and returning to his seat. 

"Um…dare." 

"I dare you to … change outfits with Peyton." 

"Like, everything?" Peyton asked. 

"Yeah. Shirts, pants, undies, everything. …But don't do it in here. Go into Pat's room and do it."  
Those two got up, awkwardly walked away, and entered Pat's room and closed the door behind them. 

"Well, I'm sure that's awkward for them," Garret said. 

"Oh well. It's not like they're going to do anything with each other," Kennedy said. 

_I'm not so sure about that…_ I thought to myself. Oh well. 

"Well, while we're waiting for those two…Julia, will you join me in the kitchen? I'd like to talk to you," Pat said, standing up. 

"Sure," I replied, following him into the kitchen. 

"I wanted to talk about what happened last night between us," he whispered to me. 

"Okay…what about it?" I asked him. 

"Well, I don't know. … I just feel like we should talk about it. It was sort of unexpected. We aren't even dating or anything, and I just had like, a rush of feelings…" 

"Obviously I did too…I mean, I kissed back," I said with a chuckle. A small grin appeared on his face. 

"Well, I like you. A lot. But I don't want to ruin our friendship," he said. 

"I like you a lot too, Pat. I really do. And I don't want to lose you as my best friend." He grabbed my hands and our fingers intertwined. 

"So, we're just best friends, right?" he asked me. He lowered his head to where our foreheads were touching. 

"Right, we're best friends, and nothing's going to change that," I replied. He lightly kissed my nose. A few seconds later, we heard a loud outburst of laughter. We both figured Peyton and John were back in the room, so we made our ways back in there. 

"John, those look like they would be your clothes," Pat said as we retook our spots in the circle. 

"…Do I see Cousin Skeeter boxers?" I asked him. I fucking loved Cousin Skeeter, even if everyone else thought it was the worst show on Nickelodeon. 

He chuckled. "Fuck yeah," he replied. 

"That may be the sexiest thing I've ever seen," I swooned. 

He winked at me and said, "Alright, Garrett, truth or dare." 

"Definitely dare," he answered. 

"Well, I dare you… to… give Patrick Kirch a lap dance. With no shirt on," John smirked. 

"That won't be a problem," Garrett replied, swiftly ripping his shirt off. And then, Garrett proceeded to give Pat the sexiest lap dance I have ever witnessed in my life. I sort of wish I was on the receiving end of that dare. 

"Damn Garrett, where'd you learn those moves?" Peyton asked. 

"I got it from my momma!" he sang to her. What a card. He put his shirt back on and sat back down.

"Alright, Peyton, truth or dare?" 

"I'll do dare, I guess. Just don't make me lick someone's ass hole," she said to him. 

"Okay. I dare you to stand up, and hold your arms out," Garrett stated. 

"Uh…okay?" Peyton got up and held her arms out, as told. 

"Now, …um… Kennedy, throw one of John's socks at her. Whatever it hits, she has to take that article of clothing off." 

"Okay…John, throw me a sock," Kenny said to him. He tossed one to him. 

"Go for her pants," John smirked. 

"NO," Peyton yelled at them. "Anything but the pants. Please." 

"Alright, here we…go," Kenny said. He held out his arm and squinted one eye, getting his aim ready.

"And…fire!" He threw the sock at Peyton. 

"YEAH!" all the boys shouted when the sock hit Peyton's pants. She let out a heavy sigh. She slowly took off the pants and threw them at John, since they were his. I glanced at her and busted out into laughter. 

"Are those…granny…panties?" 

"They were all I had okay?" she said, sitting back down in her place. "Okay…uh…Pat, truth or dare?" 

"Uh…I guess dare," he shakily replied. 

"Okay…" she trailed off, looking around the circle. Then her eyes stopped on me. "I dare you …to…" 

"To?" Pat asked. 

"To…keep your hand on JuJu's boob the whole rest of the game. Make sure you get a good grip," she said, smiling at me. 

"Excuse me?" I chimed in. 

"Ha-ha, no problem!" he said, reaching over and placing his hand on my boob, then squeezing it a few times. 

"Unnecessary!" I yelled at him. This was sort of intriguing.. 

"She said I had to have a good grip," he said with a smirk. I giggled at him and tried to get my mind off of it. 

"Hmm," he started, "Jared. Truth or dare?" 

"Hit me with a dare," he replied. 

"I dare you…to…do the Macarena in nothing but your boxers." 

"No problem!" He swiftly took off his shirt and pants and did the Macarena perfectly. Everyone was dying laughing, and I think a few of us were recording it, including me. When he was done, he didn't even bother putting his pants back on, he just took his spot in the circle. He looked around at everyone and finally stopped when he got to Peyton. "Yo, Pey, truth or dare?" 

"I'll just go with truth," she softly replied. It looked like her eyes were just on John. Ohhh Peyton. 

"Alright, pansy….uh…When was the last time you looked at someone and thought solely about sexual things, and who was it?" he asked. 

"Oooooh," Pat blurted out, hand still on my boob. 

Peyton started to blush, hard. I had a good feeling I knew what her answer what going to be.

"Well…um…earlier….I….John…." 

We all looked over at John, who was also blushing. "Ooh la la," Garrett said. 

"Um...um...Julia, truth or dare?" Peyton asked me, quickly trying to change the subject. 

"Humph…..dare!" I replied. I hope this was a good one. 

"Okay, okay…I dare you to….go take off all your clothes and make an outfit out of a towel." 

"What kind of dare is that?" I asked her, standing up. Pat stood up with me, his hand still on my boob.

"Uh…what are you doing?" 

"I have to keep my hand on your boob at all time," he said with a smirk on his face. I glared at Peyton. 

"He does, Julia." 

"Fine, okay," I said, going into the bathroom with Pat. 

He shut the door behind him and took his hand off my boob. "Should I turn around? Or…" 

"Don't worry about it," I said, taking my pants off. I could feel him staring at me. I took my shirt off and threw it behind me at Pat. It landed on his head. He got it off and smiled at me. "Are you keeping those on?" He asked, pointing at my undies and bra. 

"Only one of them," I replied, unhooking my bra. I didn't care if Pat saw my tits. It's not like they were amazing, anyways. 

I looked at myself in the mirror; my hair was in a bun, I was make-up less, and my boobs looked smaller than usual. Blech. 

"Here….uh…here's a towel," Pat said, keeping his eyes on my face.  
"Pat, you can look, I won't kill you," I stated, chuckling at his cuteness. His eyes shifted down, then he eyed me up and down. 

"JuJu, you never told me your body was this…awesome." 

"Well, it's not," I said, wrapping the towel around me. I didn't feel like making an actual outfit out of one. I grabbed Pat's hand and placed it back on my boob. "Shall we go back in the living room now?" 

We reentered the living room and sat down. I made sure that my undies weren't visible. 

Kennedy winked at me, John was staring at my chest, Jared and Garrett were staring at each other, and Peyton was laughing at me. Nice. 

Hurrying before any comments were made, I looked at Garrett. "Uh, anyways, Garrett, truth or dare?" 

"Dare!" he replied eagerly. 

"I dare you…to…spank Jared like he was your student, and you had a secret relationship with him." 

"Okay, okay, stand up Jared," he told him, getting up himself. Jared sprung up and bent over in front of him. 

"Now…are you ready for some…extra credit?" Garrett pulled his hand back and spanked Jared really hard.

Jared yelped then softly said, "Please sir..another?" 

After all that, they sat back down. Garret looked over at Pat and asked, "Truth or dare Pat?" 

"Uh….dare I guess," he said. It didn't look like he was paying attention. 

"I dare you…to…. to cover your dick with something in the house, then go outside to the mailbox, touch it, yodel for 5 seconds, then come back in." 

I swear, I've never heard that much laughter in one place after Garrett said that. 

"Shit no, I'm not doing that!" he yelled at him, crossing his arms. 

"Oh come on, Krabby Patty," Peyton said at him. 

"No. No, no, no, no, no."

About five minutes later, Pat was standing at the door with a napkin over his dick and his bare ass showing at the door. "Okay, everyone ready?" 

"Yes, yes, go," John said to him. 

Pat ran out the door and went for the mailbox, but tripped in the yard. He quickly got up, without the napkin, and put his hand on the mailbox. "YODEL YEY HE HOO," he yodeled, making it five seconds, then he ran back inside, closing the door behind him. He ran into the bathroom while the rest of us were on the floor, dying in laughter.

Our game ended shortly after that, and eventually we were all piled onto one big sheet in the floor. The order was Kennedy, Peyton, John, Jared, Garret, Pat, and then me. I don't know if anyone else was asleep, but Pat and I weren't. 

"I had fun today," Pat whispered to me so he wouldn't wake anyone else up. 

"Me too," I whispered back. 

"What was your favorite part?" 

"Seeing your white ass," I chuckled, but shortly stopped myself. "Yours?" 

"Probably getting to touch your boob." I lightly faked hit him and smiled. "Just kidding, Juju. I liked seeing you in the towel..you're beautiful, you know?" 

I blushed, but it was dark so I'm sure he couldn't tell. "Eh…come on. Let's sleep. We have a big day tomorrow." I switched sides so my back was facing towards him. He scooted closer to me and wrapped his arms around me and rested his hands on my stomach. I put my hands on his. 

"Goodnight, Julia." 

"Goodnight, Pat. Sleep well." 

"With you beside me, I'm sure I will."


	14. Punch Drunk Love

Thank you guys for reading! Sorry for the lack of updates. We are back on track writing though. Reviews would be appreciated!

"I think they're dead," stated Garrett. I felt something hit my face. I opened my eyes a tiny bit and then closed them again. I was too tired for this. I felt something else hit my face, and then something else. I grunted and fully opened my eyes. Garrett and John were sitting on the coffee table we had pushed against the wall and were throwing Cheetos at my face. Scratch that, they were throwing Cheetos at mine AND Julia's faces. I heard her cuss under her breath. Julia was not a morning person, not that I was. However bad I was, she was twenty times worse.

"Why?" was all I could muster the energy to say.

"It's time to go." Garrett stated.

"So put all your clothes on!" John sang.

"I've got the keys, YEAH" they all started singing. I threw my pillow and hit John.

"Shut the fuck up." I yelled.

"No need for that language," Pat said, walking into the living room, dragging his suitcase behind him. Julia sat up at the sound of Pat's voice and sighed.

"Nice hair." I yawned, sitting up too.

"You're the one to talk," she shot back.

"Wow, somebody has their panties in a twist!" Jared chimed in.

"At least they aren't very large granny panties," Julie stated, still glaring at me.

"Well, SOMEBODY needs caffeine right now." Pat stated, going to the fridge and getting a coke for Julia. I laughed, I was used to Julia in the mornings, and I guess Pat was too. Julia and I were the only ones still laying on the sheet, everyone else was up, showered and in way too good of a mood.

"What time is it?" I asked nobody in general. I knew someone would answer me.

"4:40" John said, looking at me.

"We leave at five?" I asked.

"Yup."

"That isn't enough time for the both of us to shower," I stated, pointing at Julie

"Shower together, conserve water. GO GREEN!" Garrett shouted, and Jared high-fived him.

"Yes, because THAT is going to happen…" I replied, rolling my eyes. John chuckled. I got up and took a 5 minute shower, because who knows when the next time I would get to take one would be and threw on some clothes.

"I'm ready!" I bounced back into the living room after fixing my hair and doing my make-up. A shower was all I needed in the morning to put me in a good mood.

"Oh, fuck you." Julia said looking at me. She was still tired. I laughed and kissed her cheek. "Cheer up, buttercup!" She just grunted.

"Is that how she is every morning?" John asked me as I sat down next to him on the coffee table.

"Not every morning, but most of the time, yes. You will get used to it, and learn not to take her bite so seriously."

"Interesting…" was all he said.

"Julia, are you going to get ready?" Kennedy asked, getting impatient as the time inched closer to 5 am.

"No, Kennedy, I am going on tour in my pajamas," she replied, sarcastically. Kenny imitated fighting cat noises and walked away.

"Juju, go get ready and I will give you a surprise," Pat said, spanking her to give her motivation.

"Oh sweet!" she perked up and walked to the bathroom. How did he do that? Nobody could ever handle Julia in the morning, but Pat could. I smiled at him and he winked at me, knowing what I was thinking. She really liked this one. I was glad. No matter how much I liked Cameron, what he did was unacceptable. For a while I thought that he and Julia would wind up together, but now that I think back on it, he wasn't right for her.

"Ready," she said, walking into the living room a few minutes later.

"Let's bounce," Jared said, grabbing his car keys.

"How are we doing this?" John asked, talking about the driving arrangements.

"Uh, Garrett, Jared, Julia, and myself can ride in my car. You three ride in Kenny's," Pat stated. My luck.

"Okay, meet you there." John said, walking to Kenny's car. He opened the passenger side door and waved his arm towards it, motioning for me to get in.

"…Thank you," I smiled as I slid in.

"Let's get this show on the road," Kenny said as we drove the short distance to go pick up the tour bus. Everyone was quiet and it was a little awkward for me.

"So…" I trailed off.

"So…" they both said in unison.

"Are you guys excited?"

"Fuck yes!" John replied.

"Mhm." Kennedy mumbled, keeping his eyes on the road. As soon as the sound came out of his mouth he shot me an apologetic look.

"Are you okay, Kenny?" I asked, wondering who pissed in his cheerios. He looked over at me.

"Fine." he shrugged and looked away. After I was sure his eyes had returned on the road, I looked back at John. He just shrugged and mouthed the words, "I don't know." We pulled up to an abandoned shoe factory where two buses and one van were sitting. They never did tell us who was going on this tour.

We climbed out of the car and Kennedy threw his keys to someone I had never met, but always wanted to see in person. Tim Kirch caught the keys in flight, and twirled them around his finger.

"Take her easy-"

"Around the corners, I know. She's old. You tell me this every time." He replied, giving Kennedy a bro-hug.

"Take her straight to my driveway. I know how much gas in her tank," he demanded. Tim had a confused look on his face. Kennedy turned around and pulled his suitcase out of the trunk. I followed suit and pulled mine out as well.

"We have the same suitcase." John stated, walking over to Pat's car and pulling it out to reveal the same black suitcase with white peace signs all over it.

"That is too weird." I sighed, laying my head on Kennedy's shoulder. We stood like that for a few seconds until he shook me off.

"What the hell is wrong with you Kennedy?" I snapped under my breath.

"Noting Peyton, just leave it alone!"

"It's something. Tell me!"

"DROP IT," he hissed, and threw his suitcase in the designated area. He stormed onto the bus, leaving me in a shocked stupor, my mouth gaping open.

"What's today?" John asked, walking up to me after witnessing the whole scene.

"Thursday."

"No, I mean the date?"

"It's the tenth."

"Oh," he said, like it all finally made sense.

"What is it?" I asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this.

"Today is the day that Gabi dumped him two years ago. We call this his dark day. Don't push the subject, don't talk about it. Leave him alone today, he will be back to good old Kennedy tomorrow."

"Is he going to be okay to perform tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah, he will turn the charm on. He's a pro," he stated, grabbing my bag and carrying it for me. He put both of our bags under the bus and threw his arm around my shoulder, like it was the natural thing to do. He lead started leading me to the bus, when I heard something slam into the back of John hard, causing his arm to slam into the back of my neck. I winced and rubbed my neck as John turned around to see what it was.

"Holy shit, John fucking Gomez!" he stated, cooly.

"I missed you, buddy!" John Gomez replied, bringing John into a hug. They were a huggy bunch. It was then that baby Gomez realized I was watching this whole exchange and pulled away.

"Who is this delightful creature?" he asked John, looking at me.

"This is Peyton. She is our new merch girl. Well, one of them."

"Peyton. Pretty name," he smiled, grabbing my hand to shake it. "I'm John."

"I know," I stated, instantly regretting it. I sounded like a stalker. "I uh, I mean, I am a big fan of your bands… I…"

"She's a Youtube stalker." John Ohh stated simply, placing his arm around my shoulders again. I sighed.

"Aren't we all," John laughed, and smiled at me. He was nice, but I didn't expect anything less. I smiled back. Julia was going to shit. She loved The Summer Set.

"GET ON THE BUS!" Tim yelled at us. I looked around and we were the only ones standing out here. We waved goodbye to John Gomez. John led me to the bus and motioned for me to go first. I knew he just wanted to watch my ass go up the stairs. I wasn't dumb, so I shimmied it a little more than usual. I looked behind me and John was smiling.

"Pervert," I mumbled under my breath. I ran onto the bus and sat down on a couch.

"Fuck!" John yelled when he realized all of the bunks had been called already. He threw his backpack on the bunk closest to the bathroom and sighed.

"Where am I sleeping?" I asked, looking around. "The couch is fine."

"You can sleep with-"

"The couch is fine." I stated again. John smirked and shook his head, letting it go. Kennedy was in his bunk with the curtain closed. My heart hurt just knowing that he was sad. I sighed and joined the conversation going on between everyone. A little while later Kenny walked out and sat next to me. I smiled at him, and he forced a smile back. Julie sat on Pat's lap, because all of the seats were taken.

"Would you two just fuck already?" Kennedy said.

"We know you two are crazy for each other," I chimed in.

"We're just really good friends." Pat spoke up, rubbing her arm. I sighed and looked over at Kennedy, and then my eyes wandered to John, who was on the other side of Kennedy. Why did I like two guys at the same time. Oh, excuse me, three.

"Yeah, and I don't have a penis," Jared joked. "I mean, come on."

"Well, I mean, okay. Pat, I like you, a lot," she said, turning to face him. "I'm sure you know that."

"Well, I like you a lot, too," he replied.

"There you go, guys. Happy?" she asked, looking at each one of us.

"Nope," we all said in unison.

"Uh…well…Julia, would you…uh…be my girlfriend?" Pat asked her. They were both blushing. Thank god I wasn't the only one who blushed so easily.

"Yes, yes I will," she replied, kissing him.

"Yay!" I yelled! Finally.

"Now all you have to do is sex it up," John said.

"Okay," Pat exclaimed, unbuttoning her shorts. Oh snap.

"Hey!" she yelled at him, smacking his hand playfully and re-buttoning her shorts. "No one wants to see us do that."  
Just then, everyone looked over at Garrett who had his cell phone out, pointed at the two of them. "Uh…well…I wasn't going to record that…or anything," he mumbled. "Uh, I'm…bathroom. Yeah." He got up and quickly walked away from everyone else as we were dying of laughter.

We all just sat around talking in that same area for a few hours, when we took our stop at a Love's Travel Shop in New Mexico.

"Get out of the way, I have to take a massive shit," Jared grumbled, passing by everyone as the bus came to a complete stop. Lovely. I had spent the past couple of hours feeling bad for Kennedy, and useless, since I didn't know how to help him.

"I don't feel like walking," I said. John got up in front of where he was sitting and bent down in front of me.

"Hop on, I'll take you inside," he said. I smiled and hopped onto his back. I could get used to this. I held on for dear life as he ran to the front of the bus and down the steps. The last time I was on someone's back, it was Eric's. I sighed.

"What's wrong?" he asked me, dropping me once we got through the automatic doors.

"Nothing, just... gotta pee." I said, turning to walk to the bathroom.

"Do you want anything?" he called out behind me. I turned around and walked backwards

"Uh, I want a bottle of water. A Fudge Round too, if they have any," I replied winking at him. Just then I collided with another body. I turned around and came face to face with someone I did not know.

"I'm so sorry," I choked out.

"Rude, no good for nothing kids, these days, when I was a young boy-" he trailed off, walking away. John was doubled over in laughter and I flipped him off, walking into the restroom. I didn't really have to pee, I just needed to get away from John before I did something dumb. I liked him. That much I knew. I also liked Kennedy, and I knew that the wound from being dumped by Halvo was still very deep. I looked at myself in the mirror and brushed my bangs out of my face. I cocked my head to the side and just stared at my reflection. Julia walked up behind me after she peed.

"Something wrong?" she asked, walking up beside me.

"Nah, just getting a good look at myself," I replied. I looked over at her. "Julie, be honest with me when I ask you this, okay?"

"Uh, alright," she murmered.

"Do you ever miss Cameron?" I asked curiously. She sighed. "Uh, well, never mind, you don't have to answer that," I said, looking back into the mirror.

"No, no, it's alright. Yeah, I miss him. I've been having dreams about him coming back lately. Why?"

"I don't know, I just," I paused and looked at her again. "Halvo…and…John…and-"

"I know, I know. But you know that saying. 'If you love something, set it free; if it comes backs it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was.'" she placed her hand on my back and rubbed it.

"I guess you're right…" I sighed, thinking it over.

"I mean, look at it like this, we're going on tour for a month. A month with no drama, cute boys, and no showers," she smiled, and I chuckled. No drama? Are you kidding me?

"That's true. Come on, let's get out of here." I said, grabbing her hand and leading her through the door. When we got back to the bus everyone was already on there, except Jared. John threw a Fudge Round at me, and to my surprise, I caught it.

"Nice catch," Kennedy mumbled, knowing how bad my hand-eye coordination sucked. I sat down next to him and opened the small package, containing my sweet candy treat. I ripped it in half and offered one half to Kenny. He looked at it and pushed it away. He stood up and walked to his bunk, hopped in and closed the curtain. I sighed and looked at the ground, slowly eating my Fudge Round. John sat next to me.

"You have to let it go Peyton, just for today. Tomorrow, he will be better." I nodded and offered him the other half of the Fudge Round. He gladly accepted and starting munching on it. I felt horrible. My best friend was hurting, and there was absolutely nothing I could do. John looked over at me, and wrapped his arm around me, pulling down so that my head was resting on his chest, his arm rubbing tiny circles on my arm. I closed my eyes and took in his smell. Nobody smelt quite like John. He was unique. If anyone had the same cologne, it still wouldn't be the same.

I woke up when the bus came to a screeching halt. I shot up and looked around. It was still daylight, and everyone was staring at me. I looked over at John, his head was still lying against the back of the couch, he was still sound asleep. I looked down at his shirt, and the small puddle of drool I had left there.

"That is gross," Garrett smirked, looking at the puddle.

"Ew, Peyton. Girls don't drool." Jared stated.

"Oh well," I shrugged. I should be embarrassed, but nope, I wasn't. "Are we here?" I asked, looking out of the window.

"Yup." Pat answered, his arms wrapped tightly around Julia, who was eyeing me.

"What?" I asked her, feeling awkward.

"Oh, nothing."

Phil, the bus driver, opened the door, which woke John up. The screeching breaks didn't wake him, but the sound of the bus door did.

"ARE WE HERE, DID I MISS IT?" he yelled, sitting up.

"You missed it John." I sighed. "You missed the first gig on tour, and I had to fill in. Don't worry though, I sounded better than you. I may not be as sexually desirable to the underage girls, but they will come around. Give it time."

"You don't sing in front of people. That is the only reason I know you are bullshitting me right now," he smiled. "Nobody knows if you can sing or not. It's one of life's great mysteries." How did he know that I didn't sing in front of people?

"She can sing." Julia chimed in.

"Shut up, Julia."

"What? You can," she shrugged.

"I have to hear this one day," John smiled an evil grin and I rolled my eyes.

"That will never happen."

"Okay," was all he said, like he was planning something. Just then a short brunette came running onto the bus. I smiled when I recognized Jess, the drummer for The Summer Set. All of the guys instantly cheered up and ran to give her hugs.

"Where's Kennedy?" she asked, looking around. At the sound of her voice, his curtain drew back and he hopped out of bed. He ran through all of the guys and picked her up, swinging her around and hugging her tightly. I understood that they went way back, having been in a previous band together and all, but really? A rush of jealousy surged through me. I brushed it away and waited to be introduced, if Kennedy would ever put her down… He did, eventually.

"Jess, this is Peyton, and this is Julia. They are our merch girls." John said, making the introductions. Jess smiled at us, and we returned the smiles.

"Julia is actually my girlfriend," Pat piped in.

"Very nice," Jess replied, giving a thumbs up to Julia. She looked at me.

"Who are you dating?" she asked me, dead serious.

"Uh," was all I managed to get out.

"I mean, that's what merch girls usually are right, girlfriends of band members," she continued.

"Actually, I'm not dating anyone." I shrugged.

"She was dating Halvo," Garrett said. I sighed.

"The single life is better anyway," she winked at me. I think I have a slight girl crush; I'm not even going to lie. I smiled and nodded.

"I hope so."

"Everyone has already sound checked guys, you are late," she said, turning her attention back to the boys.

"Let's help unload." Jared said, turning to walk off of the bus. John grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him. We stepped off of the bus into the Texas heat. I have always lived in Tempe, and I was used to it. Julia, however, grew up in Virginia.

"It's hot as fuck," Julia stated, fanning her hands in front of her face the second she walked off of the bus. "I don't know if I will ever get used to this heat."

"It's not that bad. I mean nothing's as hot as you," Pat replied with a wink and a smile. They were adorable.

"So who else is going on this tour with you guys?" Julia asked.

"F-" John started.

"Forever the Sickest Kids," I cut him off.

"How do you know that?" she asked, pouting because she thought I knew more than she did.

"Because Jonathan Cook is standing right behind you." I giggled, watching the crazy faces Jonathan was making. Her eyes got wide, and she froze.

"Hiya!" he said, right into her ear.

"Hi…" she replied, turning around to face him.

"I am Jonathan," he greeted in a friendly tone.

"I'm Julia," she replied, holding her hand out for him to shake. He swatted it away and pulled her into a hug. I saw Pat roll his eyes.

"What's going on guys?" he asked The Maine. "Haven't seen you since warped! John, you handsome bastard, we never went on our date."

"You never stopped by our house when you were in Arizona like you said you would." John shot back, smiling the whole time.

"Oh right, because you were 'too busy and important' to come to our show," Jonathan heaved a fake sigh and continued down the line, hugging everyone. After he reached Garrett and Kennedy, they went to help unload the equipment. He finally reached me.

"Hello," he smiled.

"Hello," I replied, returning the smile.

"I'm Jonathan,"

"I'm Peyton." I replied, waiting for him to hug me, like he did to Julia. He stuck his hand out instead, and I was taken back for a second. I slowly shook his hand and looked up at him. He wasn't smiling anymore, he almost looked sad. "Well, you guys should go soundcheck," he said, turning around. Kennedy brought over the boxes of merch.

"I'll show them where to set it up," Jonathan said, picking up the boxes. Julia closed the distance between us and wrapped her arm around me as we followed JCook. "That was weird. He hugged me. What did you do to piss of Jonathan Cook?" she asked, keeping her voice down.

"I don't know. I didn't think I did anything." I shrugged, trying to forget about it.

"Here's the table. Here's some tape," he said, tossing it to Julia. "Sharpies, and junk. Make it look good!" he winked at Julia and walked away.

"I think I just came," she said under her breath and I giggled. I don't think she was kidding.

We set up the merch in a visually appealing way. I walked to the doors that divided the merch area from the main stage and watched the last few minutes of The Maine's sound check. Kennedy was still sulking, but I imagine he would crank up the energy when the time called for it. John's voice was perfect, hitting every note, never faltering once. Garrett's energy was insane, even during sound check. You could tell he lived for music. He turned me onto Ryan Adams in the past month, and for that, I will be forever grateful. Pat's arms and hair were flying everywhere, keeping the beat going. Jared was an amazing guitar player. He didn't move around as much as Garrett or Kennedy did, but he was still fun to watch. This wasn't my first time seeing them, but I was still in awe. John saw me watching and turned around, wiggling his butt a few times, spanking it in the process as he continued to sing. I laughed and shook my head. The boy had issues.

"Sounds good." John nodded. "Does it sound good, Peyton?"

"Sounds like shit." I replied.

"Well come up here and see if you can do better!" he replied. I shook my head from side to side and stepped back into the merch room. Julia was sitting in a chair, sipping on some water. I took a seat next to her, ready to face these pre-teen monsters.

"Can I have that on in an extra small?" a vertically challenged kid smacking her gum asked me, pointing to a shirt on the wall.

"20 dollars," I responded, taking the money and handing her the shirt. The Maine hadn't played yet, but as soon as the doors opened we were swamped. She put a dollar in the tip jar.

"Thank you! We appreciate eating!" I smiled at her and moved on to the next kid.

"So, do you like, know the band?" she asked me. I wanted to roll my eyes.

"Nope. Never met them. What can I get you?" I asked, sounding slightly irritated.

"John's phone number," she replied, not missing a beat.

"I don't have it." I lied. "Now what can I get you?"

"I'm not leaving until you give it to me," she snapped.

"Why would you want John's number? How old are you, fourteen? First of all, anything you wanted to do to John would be ILLEGAL, seeing how he is over eighteen. Secondly, don't you think that some random person calling him would bug him?" I asked, about to punch this stupid fan girl. I hated them so much.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "I'm not leaving until you tell me."

"See Tito over there?" I asked pointing to the security guard. "I can call him over here to sort this out if, you would like. Maybe he has John's number."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, I so would. I'm pretty sure you would get kicked out of the venue and miss the show. What a lame way to spend a Thursday night." I smiled sweetly at her.

"Whoa! Don't test her, kid." Julia piped in. "Here, come over here," she said pointing to her now non-existant line. "I'll help you out before Peyton kills you." I smiled at her, mouthing the words "Thank you."

Julia dealt with her. She was our last customer for moment. Julia took a seat, wiping her brow.

"It is way too hot here," she complained. I just smiled. We heard the crowd going crazy, which meant it was time for the first band.

"What's up TEXAS?" Brian yelled into the microphone. "We are a band called The Summer Set, and we want to see you guys get fucking crazy!" With that, they went into their set. Julia was looking around the doorway to watch.

"Go! I can hold down the fort," I said, smiling at her. I knew how much she loved this band.

"Thank you!" she yelled running through the door.

I closed my eyes, leaning my head back in the seat. I was still tired.

"Hey," I heard someone say from next to me. I opened my eyes and looked over at Kennedy.

"What are you doing? Those girls are going to run over here any second and maul you."

"Nah," he shrugged. "I just… wanted to explain."

"You don't have to," I said, putting my hand over his.

"I want to." He replied. I wasn't going to stop him. The fact that he cared enough to fill me in made me like him all the more. He told me the story, in great detail, of how he and Gabi had broken up, why he cheated, how much he regretted it.

"She was the best thing that ever happened to me," he sighed. There it was again, that twinge of jealousy.

"Things happen for a reason Kenny. You can't beat yourself up over something that happened two years ago. Things will work out the way they are supposed to," I said, turning his own kind words he said to me two days ago in the bathroom back on himself. He smiled.

"You and John." He said, totally changing the subject.

"There is no 'me and John.' There is a me, and then there is a John."

"I don't like it," he said, standing up.

"Nothing's going on there Kenny. I promise. I just got dumped not even three days ago. No way in hell am I already trollin' for a boyfriend."

"If you say so," he said, pulling me in for a hug. He didn't let go. I could tell his "dark day" took a toll on him. I wanted it to be over already. I wanted my Kenny back. The ending lines of Chelsea distracted Kennedy from our exchange.

"That's their closer. We're on next. I'm going to go head backstage so I don't miss the preshow festivities."

"Have fun, Kenny."

"You too," he winked at me. What was that about? Julia walked back over and sat down in her chair.

"That was amazing," she stated. Some girls came and bought some merch between bands. Nothing too bad. I saw the lights dim and heard the screams.

"Do you mind if I just…?" I asked, pointing to the door.

"Go ahead," she replied, a smile in place. I saw through it though. I could tell she wanted to watch her boyfriend play.

"I just want to see the first few songs. I'll come back and let you go watch Pat. I promise!"

"Thank you!" she smiled at me. I walked through the door and stood against the back wall. John was babbling on about something while all of the boys tuned their instruments to where they wanted them. Sometimes the guitar techs screwed them up, or so Kennedy told me. They started to play shortly after. The audience was loving it. They played a few songs, and then John started talking. He had to be drunk. I knew he wasn't though.

"Has anyone ever been in love?" John asked the crowd, and cheers and screams answered his question. "That's beautiful. Love is beautiful. You guys are fucking beautiful. I've heard the girls in Texas were hot. We've been here many times and you guys always look so fucking great."

"Okay John, they get it! They are beautiful!" Garrett joined in and I giggled. They were good at in-between-song banter.

"Anyway, this song is about love. I'd like to dedicate this song to a very close friend of mine. She recently broke up with her boyfriend. I just wanted to let her know," he paused, looking towards the door to make sure I was listening. He spotted me and smiled, "that she will find someone. She once told me that she wanted a love like the one in this song. I wanted to tell her not to wait for it to come to her. Go find it. Hold your head up, kid. This one's for you," he said pointing right at me. The whole crowd turned and looked and I'm sure I was blushing. That was the longest dedication ever. Oh god, John O'Callaghan. Why? "I Must Be Dreaming," was the song they played. It was one of my favorites, and I did tell John that I wanted a love like the one in the song. I still do. After they finished the song, John smiled at me. I smiled back, and started walking back through the door, so that I could give Julie a chance to see her boyfriend in action.

"Where are you going, Peyton?" I heard John's voice through the loud speaker. I stopped walking and faced the stage. I had a puzzled look on my face. It was then that I felt hands on my body. One set grabbed my ankles and lifted them up, as the other set wrapped around my body from under my arms. I started to panic as John Gomez and Kyle Burns started to carry me. To the stage. To the mother fucking stage.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," was all I kept saying the whole time. As soon as they reached the stage, the crowd went wild at the sight of Kyle. He set me down, waved, and then exited the stage. John smiled at me. I crossed my arms glared at him. I looked over at Kennedy and he was looking at me. He shrugged and then looked at John. He shook his head and then acted like he was re-tuning his already tuned guitar.

"Texas, this," he said, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me towards him, "is my good friend Peyton. Peyton is shy. I need you to make her feel welcome. I want everyone to say hello to her." They did. I smiled and waved.

"Why am I up here?" I asked him, speaking right into his ear so he might be able to hear me. He ignored me.

"Let me tell you guys a story. It's not an interesting one, but I don't care. Peyton can sing. Or so I have been told. I have never actually heard it with my own ears," he started to explain. I saw where this was going.

"No." I stated. One of the tech guys walked on stage and handed me a microphone. I closed my eyes, wishing I would wake up from this nightmare I was having. I opened them, and sighed. This was real life.

"What do you say, Peyton? Would you like to sing with me," he asked, searching my face and finally focusing his eyes on mine.

"No, John. I do not want to sing with you." I replied. The crowd started, "Awwwing" and "booing" at me. I rolled my eyes. John leaned over and said into my ear, "Come on Peyton. You can't back out of this, please. It would make things awkward after I already proposed the idea."

"No."

He lifted his head up and looked into my eyes. "Please….?" he asked me, lightly putting his forehead to mine. I heard more boo's and gasps coming from the crowd. I looked back into his eyes.

"Fine." I sighed, defeated. He smiled and pulled away. I saw Kennedy out of the corner of my eye. He looked furious.

"Did you hear that? She said yes!" John shouted. A guitar tech brought him an acoustic guitar. The crowd started cheering. John started strumming the chords to "Whoever She Is," and I looked over at the door. This was Julia's favorite song, and she had to miss it, because I wasn't there to switch places with her.

"I thought I had my girl, but she ran away," John sang into the microphone. I wasn't sure where to join in so I watched John for any kind of signal. It finally came during the chorus. We sang together, but I didn't really listen to how we sounded. I was too nervous to think about anything other than getting the words right. If I had been driving in my car, I wouldn't think twice about the words. I knew them by heart, but in front of a crowd was a different story. I closed my eyes and imagined myself being in my car right now. I kept them closed during most of the song, knowing now where I needed to join in. I opened my eyes when we made it to the last verse, and John stepped away from his microphone, letting me finish the song alone.

"She could be rainy days, minimum wage,  
A book that ends with no last page.  
Who ever she is, whoever she may be,  
One thing's for sure, you don't have to worry."

The crowd ate it up. They went nuts. John wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a tight hug. "Your voice…" was all he said. I smiled and looked up at him.

"Thank y-" but I was stopped by his lips, pressing gently against mine. I smiled into the kiss and wrapped my arms around him. Momentarily, I forgot where I was. Nothing was in focus for me anymore. All that mattered in the whole universe, was this kiss, happening right here. He pulled me in closer and our kiss got a little more heated. The next thing I knew, John was ripped away from me. Literally, ripped away from me, and everything came rushing back in. John and I just kissed, on stage, in front of all of his fans. Kennedy was in John's face, yelling. The crowd was boo-ing, Garrett and Jared were trying to break John and Kennedy up. Pat just sat there, watching everyone act like idiots. Then it happened. A punch was thrown. Kennedy – 1. John – 0. Even more gasps erupted from the crowd. I ran over to see if John was okay. He was holding his nose, and blood was going everywhere.

"FUCK," he screamed, trying to stand back up to get back at Kenny. I looked up at Kennedy, and there was no remorse on his face whatsoever. He looked pleased.

"Well, I believe that is the end of our set. Sorry Texas. Come meet us after the show" Garrett sighed into the microphone. Kennedy stomped off stage and Jared followed him. Pat shrugged and threw his drumsticks into the crowd. I helped John up and walked him off of the stage. I made him sit down on a box and tilt his head back. I grabbed a towel and wiped the blood off of his face. He just stared at me.

"Why did Kennedy punch me, Peyton?" he demanded.

"I don't know, John." I replied, applying pressure to the bridge of his nose.

"I don't know is not answer. Why did Kennedy, one of my best friends in the whole world, punch me?" he demanded, again.

"I DON'T KNOW, JOHN!" I shouted. I heard footsteps walk up behind us, and turned to see who it was.

"What the fuck happened?" Julia asked me.

"Who's watching the merch stand?" I asked her, getting even more angry by the second.

"Jonathan is." she answered, walking closer.

"I don't mean to be a bitch, Julia, but now is not the time." I yelled. She looked hurt. I instantly felt guilty as she turned around and walked back the way she came from.

"Julie, wait!" I yelled after her, but she couldn't hear me.

"That's great Peyton, just great." John said, shaking his head.

"What was I supposed to do John? Seven hundred and fifty-two things are happening right now. I can't deal with anymore!"

"Tell me why, Peyton." he was back on the subject of Kennedy.

"He told me he didn't like the idea of you and me together, okay?" I answered.

"That's not enough of a reason to punch me."

"I don't know, John."

"Well when you do know, come find me. Until then, I'm going to see if Julia is okay." He said, pushing off of the box and walking away from me.

"By the way," he yelled out behind him, "you're singing that with me every night on the tour. No arguments. You got me punched."

"I'm not the one who kissed you, John!" but he didn't hear me, or he chose not to respond. He just kept walking. Where the fuck was Kennedy? We needed to talk. Now.


	15. Never Say Never

"_Julia…please don't go on tour. I need you with me, here."  
_

"_You never called, why should I be with you?"  
_

"_I need you, Julia. You're my life, and I just need you back."  
_

"_You don't mean it."  
_

"_Yes I do…I haven't eaten or slept in weeks, Julia. I love you, and I need you back."  
_

"_Oh Cameron…"  
_

"I think they're dead," I think Garrett said. Then, something proceeded to hit me in the face. I let out a groan and kept my eyes closed. I have been having dreams about Cameron for the past week…I didn't like it; I wanted to get over him. But they kept happening.

I was almost back asleep when I felt something hit my face again, and then again. I opened my eyes a little bit to see Garrett and Jared sitting at the coffee table. I looked beside my head to see a pile of Cheetos…that they had thrown at our faces.

"Fucking stupid…ugh…" I grumbled. Peyton and Pat were the only ones that could handle me in the morning…the rest of the boys were in for a rude awakening. I was Captain Bitch when I first wake up.

"Why?" Peyton managed to get out of her mouth. I'm sure she was just as tired as I was, but she took first waking up better than I did.

"It's time to go." Garrett stated.

"So put all your clothes on!" John started to sing.

"I've got the keys, YEAH!" they all started singing.

Peyton threw her pillow at John and he grunted as it hit him. She then yelled, "Shut the fuck up."

"No need for that language," Pat said, walking into the living room with his suitcase behind him.  
I quickly sat up when he walked in…I don't know why, either. That has never happened with anyone before…I would have usually just stayed down. Pat just sort of…had an effect on me, I guess. I let out a sigh.

"Nice hair." Peyton yawned as she sat up.

"You're the one to talk," I mumbled back to her.  
"Wow, somebody has their panties in a twist!" Jared chimed in. I rolled my eyes. 

"At least they aren't very large granny panties," I stated, directing my attention to Peyton. 

"Well, SOMEBODY needs caffeine right now." Pat said. He walked into the kitchen and walked back out with a can of Coke. He tossed it to me and I barley caught it. I opened it and took a sip of it. I looked around, and everyone but Peyton and I were ready. 

"What time is it?" Peyton asked to anyone. 

"4:40" John replied. 

"We leave at five?" she asked. 

"Yup." 

"That isn't enough time for the both of us to shower," she stated, pointing at me. 

"Shower together, conserve water. GO GREEN!" Garrett shouted, and Jared high-fived him. 

"Yes, because THAT is going to happen," she replied. 

She got a fast shower, and a few minutes later she came back into the living room. 

"I'm ready!" she said. Showers always put her in a good mood. I wasn't really like that. 

"Oh, fuck you." I said to her. Nothing personal, of course. Just my morning mood. Peyton went and sat down next to John, and he asked her something while looking at me. I ignored it. 

"Julia, are you going to get ready?" Kennedy asked me. 

"No, Kennedy, I am going on tour in my pajamas," I replied. He made cat noises as he walked off. He'll get used to me. 

"Juju, go get ready and I will give you a surprise," Pat said, spanking me. I perked up quickly. 

"Oh sweet!" I ran into the bathroom, took a two minute shower, did my hair and make up, put on a pair of shorts, a tank, and some flip-flops, then walked back into the living room. 

"Ready," I said. My morning mood was over for today. 

"Let's bounce," Jared said, grabbing Pat's car keys and tossing them to him. 

"How are we doing this?" John asked, talking about the driving arrangements. 

"Uh, Garrett, Jared, Julia, and myself can ride in my car. You three ride in Kenny's," Pat stated.  
_How awkward for her _I thought. I hope Peyton was going to be okay. 

"Okay, meet you there," John said as he, Peyton, and Kenny walked to their car.

Pat opened the passenger's side car door, looked at me, and said, "You're sitting up front with me." I smiled at him and got in the car. 

"Aw, why does she get front?" Garret whined. 

"Yeah, what makes her so special?" Jared asked. I rolled my eyes at them. 

"Because I love her. And I hate you guys," he said. He stared the car and we were on our way to where the tour bus was. 

"So…what was my surprise?" I asked Pat eagerly. He let out a small chuckle. 

"You get to sit up front." he said. I playfully hit his arm. 

"You don't have anything, do you?" I asked. 

"Well…not yet. But trust me, I have something nice for you." He took one of his hands off the wheel and grabbed my hand. 

"Yeah, and we know what it is," Jared chimed in. I looked back at him and Garrett. 

"Tell me what it is!" 

"We can't, we pinky promised," Garret said. I let out a sigh. 

"What is this, middle school?" I mumbled, turning back around. 

"Yup," Jared and Garret said in unison. 

We arrived to the place the tour bus was at, which was an abandoned shoe factory. Why? Who knows. It didn't look like the others were here yet. 

Pat parked the car and popped the trunk. We all got out of the car and we saw someone I thought I'd never see in person. 

"Tim! Hey bro," Pat said, going up and hugging his brother. Garrett and Jared followed and hugged him also. Pat looked at me and motioned for me to come over to where they were. Oh boy. I walked over there with my arms crossed and stopped beside Pat. "Tim, this is Julia. Julia, Tim. He always drive's Kenny's car back to his place when we go on tour." 

Tim held out his hand for me to shake, so I did so. "Nice to meet you," I said softly. I don't know why I was being so shy about this. 

"Likewise," he said back with a smile on his face. He let go of my hand and looked at Pat. "You lied when you said she was beautiful," he started. I looked down at the ground, about to cry when he finished, "she's more like a goddess." I looked back up at him and smiled. 

"Uh, well, let's..load the bus now," Pat mumbled. Garret and Jared said bye to Tim and walked back to the car. "It was nice to meet you, Julia. We will have to talk again," Tim said to me. He grabbed my hand and kissed it, which made me blush. What a charmer.

I joined Garrett and Jared, who were staring at Pat and Tim. I looked with them to see what looked like Pat getting on to Tim. "What do you think is going on?" I asked out loud. 

"Uh..well," Jared started. He looked over at Garrett. "Want to take this one, buddy?" 

Garrett cleared his throat. "He's probably talking about-" 

"Alright guys," Pat interrupted as he walked back over to where we were. "Let's get our stuff out." Pat grabbed mine and his suitcase out of his trunk and started to walk towards the bus. I jogged until I was beside him.

"You ready for this?" I asked him, putting my hand on his shoulder. 

"Yup. Especially since you're coming along," he said, looking at me with a smile on his face. I was really liking that smile lately. 

He put our suitcases in the designated area and got on the bus with me following right behind him. He hopped into a top bunk. "This is mine. This one right here," he said. He scooted back some and pat his hand on the space beside him while looking at me. I got up there and laid down beside him. It wasn't a lot of room, but it was more than I was expecting. He put his arms around my waist and whispered, "This is mine. This one right here." 

Everyone else got on the bus a few minutes after that and got their spots. We all then proceeded to the front area of the bus. All the seats were taken, so I just sat in Pat's lap. He put his arms around my waist. 

"Would you two just fuck already?" Kennedy said. 

"We know you two are crazy for each other," Peyton chimed in. 

"We're just really good friends." Pat rubbed my arm softly. 

"Yeah, and I don't have a penis," Jared joked. "I mean, come on." 

"Well, I mean, ….okay. Pat, I like you, a lot," I said, turning to face him. "I'm sure you know that." 

"Well, I like you a lot, too," he replied, tightening his grip around me. 

"There you go, guys. Happy?" I asked, turning back to everyone else. 

"Nope," everyone said in unison. 

"Uh…well…Julia, would you…uh…be my girlfriend?" Pat asked me. He was blushing a little bit, as I'm sure I was, and my stomach was doing flips. 

"Yes, yes I will," I replied, leaning in to give him a kiss. 

"Yay!" I heard Peyton yell. 

"Now all you have to do is sex it up," John said. 

"Okay," Pat exclaimed, unbuttoning my shorts. 

"Hey!" I yelled at him, smacking his hand playfully and re-buttoning my shorts. "No one wants to

see us do that." 

Just then, we looked over at Garrett who had his cell phone out, pointed at us. "Uh…well…I wasn't going to record that…or anything," he mumbled. "Uh, I'm…bathroom. Yeah." He got up and quickly walked away from everyone else as we were dying in laughter. 

We all just sat around talking in that same area for a few hours, when we took our stop at a Love's Travel Shop in New Mexico. 

"Get out of the way, I have to take a massive shit," Jared grumbled, passing by everyone as the bus came to a complete stop. 

"I don't feel like walking," Peyton said. John got up in front of where she was sitting and bent down. 

"Hop on, I'll take you inside." Peyton smiled and got on John's back. Those two went out, with Kennedy and Garrett following behind them. I started to stand up but Pat pulled me back down into his lap. 

"Come on, I need to pee and I want some sour gummy worms," I whined, looking at him. 

"The sour gummy worms aren't going anywhere," he said, putting his hand behind my head. He pulled my head to his and we shared a deep kiss. I finally pulled back and placed my forehead on his. 

"Let's go inside now, okay?" 

He lightly pecked my nose. "Okay." 

We got up and we went inside the store. Pat kissed my cheek and said, "I'm going to gather up some goodies, I'll make sure to get your worms. Meet you back on the bus." I smiled as I watched him walked off, and then I made my way to the bathroom. I peed, relief, and then I walked out of my stall to see Peyton staring at herself in the mirror. 

"Something wrong?" I asked, walking up beside her. 

"Nah, just…getting a good look at myself," she replied. She turned her head in my direction. "Julie, be honest with me when I ask you this, okay?" 

"Uh, alright," I murmured. I didn't know where she was going with this. 

"Do you ever miss Cameron?" 

I let out a sigh. I didn't mind answering this, I just really wanted to get my mind off of him. 

"Uh, well, never mind, you don't have to answer that," she said, looking at herself again. 

"No, no, it's alright. Yeah, I miss him. I've been having dreams about him coming back lately. Why?" 

"I don't know, I just," she paused and looked at me again. "Halvo…and…John…and…" 

"I know, I know. But you know that saying. 'If you love something, set it free; if it comes backs it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was.'" I placed my hand on her back and rubbed it. 

"I guess you're right…" 

"I mean, look at it like this, we're going on tour for a month. A month with no drama, cute boys, and no showers." It was all true. Except maybe the drama part… 

"That's true. Come on, let's get out of here." she said, grabbing my hand and leading me through the door. When we got back to the bus everyone was already on there, except Jared. John threw a Fudge Round at Peyton and she caught it. Nicely done.

"Nice catch," Kennedy mumbled to her. Pat had told me earlier about how today marked the day him and Gabi broke up, and how he'll be in a bad mood all day.  
Peyton sat down beside Kenny, and I took a seat in Pat's lap again. He handed me my sour gummy worms and I kissed him on the forehead. I opened the package and ate a worm. Seriously the best candy in the world. I looked over at everyone else. Peyton opened the fudge round John got her, torn it in half, and offered some to Kennedy, but he rejected it and walked to his bunk. John sat down beside her and accepted the offering.

"I want a blue and red worm, please," Pat said, pouting. I pulled one out of the bag and he opened his mouth.

"I have to feed you now?" I joked, sticking the gummy worm in his mouth. I looked over at Peyton and John, who were cuddled up together. It looked like they were about to fall asleep. Hmm..

A few hours passed and we were close to our first destination: Houston, Texas. John and Peyton were still asleep in the same position, Kennedy was still in his bunk, Garrett and Jared were playing some type of word came, and Pat and I were just watching. All of a sudden, the bus came to a screeching halt. Pat and I looked at the window, and we were outside of the venue. Peyton shot up quickly and looked around at everyone, and everyone was looking at her…and the pile of drool she left on John's shirt.

"That is gross," Garrett smirked, looking at the puddle.

"Ew, Peyton. Girls don't drool." Jared stated.

"Oh well," she shrugged. She looked out the window. "Are we here?"

"Yup." Pat answered. I kept my eyes on Peyton. We were going to have to have a talk about this later.

"What?" she asked, looking at me.

"Oh, nothing," I answered, shaking it off.

Phil, the bus driver, opened the door, which woke John up. The screeching breaks didn't wake him, but the sound of the bus door did.

"ARE WE HERE, DID I MISS IT?" he yelled, sitting up.

"You missed it John." Peyton sighed. "You missed the first gig on tour, and I had to fill in. Don't worry though, I sounded better than you. I may not be as sexually desirable to the underage girls, but they will come around. Give it time."

"You don't sing in front of people. That is the only reason I know you are bullshitting me right now," he smiled. "Nobody knows if you can sing or not. It's one of life's great mysteries."

"She can sing." I chimed in. I think I was the only one who knew of Peyton's talent.

"Shut up, Julia."

"What? You can," I shrugged.

"I have to hear this one day," John said.

"That will never happen."

"Okay," was all he said, like he was planning something. Just then a short brunette came running onto the bus. It was Jess from The Summer Set. The fucking Summer Set! I was excited to know they were one of the other people going on tour with The Maine. There was one more band but I didn't know who… All of the guys got up and gave her a welcoming hug.

"Where's Kennedy?" she asked, looking around. At the sound of her voice, his curtain drew back and he hopped out of bed. He ran through all of the guys and picked her up, swinging her around and hugging her tightly.

"Jess, this is Peyton, and this is Julia. They are our merch girls." John said, making the introductions. Jess smiled at us, and we returned the smiles.

"Julia is actually my girlfriend," Pat piped in. This made me smile big.

"Very nice," Jess replied, giving me a thumbs up. She directed her attention to Peyton.

"Who are you dating?" she asked.

"Uh," was all Peyton said.

"I mean, that's what merch girls usually are right, girlfriends of band members," she continued.

"Actually, I'm not dating anyone."

"She was dating Halvo," Garrett said.

"The single life is better anyway," she winked at Peyton.

"I hope so."

"Everyone has already sound checked guys, you are late," she said, turning her attention back to the boys.

"Let's help unload." Jared said, turning to walk off of the bus. Everyone followed him. 

"It's hot as fuck," I stated, fanning my hands in front of my face when I walked off of the bus. "I don't know if I will ever get used to this heat."

"It's not that bad. I mean nothing's as hot as you," Pat replied with a wink and a smile. I started blushing.

"So who else is going on this tour with you guys?" I asked.

"F-" John started.

"Forever the Sickest Kids," Peyton cut him off.

"How do you know that?" I asked. How come she knew and I didn't? I was a huge fan of Forever The Sickest Kids.

"Because Jonathan Cook is standing right behind you." she said, giggling. I'm sure my eyes were about to pop out of my head, they got so wide. I think I was frozen in time.

"Hiya!" he said, right into my ear.

"Hi…" I said quietly, turning around to see if it was really him.

"I am Jonathan," he greeted in a friendly tone.  
_  
He's even better looking in person…_ I thought to myself. _Stop it, Julia. You shouldn't be thinking like this._

"I'm Julia," I replied, putting my hand out for him to shake. He swatted it away and pulled me into a hug.

"What's going on guys?" he asked The Maine. "Haven't seen you since warped! John, you handsome bastard, we never went on our date."

"You never stopped by our house when you were in Arizona like you said you would." John shot back, smiling the whole time.

"Oh right, because you were 'too busy and important' to come to our show," Jonathan heaved a fake sigh and continued down the line, hugging everyone. After he reached Garrett and Kennedy, they went to help unload the equipment. He reached Peyton.

"Hello," he smiled.

"Hello," she replied.

"I'm Jonathan."

"I'm Peyton." He stuck his hand out and she slowly it.

"Well, you guys should go sound check," he said, turning around. Kennedy brought over the boxes of merch.

"I'll show them where to set it up," Jonathan said, picking up the boxes. I wrapped my arm around Peyton as we followed J-Cook.

"That was weird. He hugged me. What did you do to piss of Jonathan Cook?" I asked, keeping my voice down.

"I don't know. I didn't think I did anything." she shrugged.

"Here's the table. Here's some tape," he said, tossing it to me. I actually caught it. "Sharpies, and junk. Make it look good!" he winked at me and walked away. I almost melted, but then I felt bad for thinking like that. But then again, it was just thoughts. I looked over at Peyton.

"I think I just came," I said under my breath. She laughed at me and we began to fix up the merch table.

Peyton and I worked on setting the merch table up in a nice, appealing manner. She went to check out The Maine's sound check while I stayed with the table, tiding up and making sure some maniac didn't come and just steal everything that was over here. I finished up, sat down, and grabbed a bottle of water that Jonathan had brought me a few minutes ago. I just met this guy and he's being awfully nice to me. I liked the attention … but I had Pat. I shook off those thoughts as Peyton came back and sat down beside me as we awaited the girls about to rush through the door.

~~

"Can I have that on in an extra small?" a chick who was smacking on her gum insanely loud asked. I wasn't good at talking to kids, let alone teens, so Peyton handled all of this and I promised her I'd clean up after this was over.

"20 dollars," she responded, taking her money and handing her the shirt. The Maine hadn't played yet, but as soon as the doors opened we were swamped. She put a dollar in the tip jar.

"Thank you! We appreciate eating!" she smiled at her as the next girl came up.

"So, do you like, know the band?" she asked her. I let out a heavy sigh, but it was so loud in there I'm sure no one heard me. I'm sure we were going to get a lot of this while on this tour.

"Nope. Never met them. What can I get you?" she asked her, sounding irritated.

"John's phone number," she replied, not even having to think about it.

"I don't have it." Peyton lied. "Now what can I get you?"

"I'm not leaving until you give it to me," the girl snapped. Did she really think she was going to get his number?

"Why would you want John's number? How old are you, fourteen? First of all, anything you wanted to do to John would be ILLEGAL, seeing how he is over eighteen. Secondly, don't you think that some random person calling him would bug him?" she asked. Peyton was getting very frustrated, and that wasn't good.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "I'm not leaving until you tell me."

"See Tito over there?" Peyton asked pointing to the security guard. "I can call him over here to sort this out if, you would like. Maybe he has John's number."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, I so would. I'm pretty sure you would get kicked out of the venue and miss the show. What a lame way to spend a Thursday night." I needed to end this.

"Whoa! Don't test her, kid." I piped in. "Here, come over here," I said, pointing to in front of me. "I'll help you out before Peyton kills you." I looked over at Peyton. She smiled and mouthed "Thank you."

I got up and walked over to the table that was separating us from everyone else and leaned in to where she could hear me. "Look," I started, "I'll give you John's number."

"Really?" she asked, perking up a bit.

"Yeah..but I won't do it here. Give me your number and I'll text it to you when we're not around Peyton." She wrote down her number on a piece of paper with a sharpie and gave it to me.

"Thank you so much!" she said as she walked off. I wasn't really going to give her John's number. I just said that so she'd shut up and get away from us.

She was our last customer for the moment. I sat down, took a sip of my water, and wiped my brow. "It is way too hot here," I complained. Then, we heard the crowd going crazy, which meant it was time for the first band.

"What's up TEXAS?" Brian yelled into the microphone. "We are a band called The Summer Set, and we want to see you guys get fucking crazy!" And they started playing. The door to where the stage was open a little bit. I was trying to look around to see them play, but it wasn't working.

"Go! I can hold down the fort," Peyton said to me, smiling. This is why we were friends.

"Thank you!" I yelled as I ran for the door.

I got a nice spot close to the back so when their set was over, I could just run and get back to the merch table before everyone came, but I could still see the stage. The Summer Set was so awesome live. They sounded so great, and they interacted with the fans so well.

I was just listening and watching, dancing with myself when someone came up behind me and put their hands over my eyes. I figured it was Pat, so I grabbed the hands and turned around. It wasn't Pat. I let go of his hands and shyly asked, "Jonathan?"

"That's me. Where's Pat? You seem a little lonely dancing by yourself," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"I guess he's backstage with the rest of the band, or on the bus or something," I answered. I felt goose bumps rising on my skin. "Why are you out here? If anyone sees you, you're going to get bombarded by girls."

"Nah, no one will see me. Not while they're on stage. And I'm just going to be out here for a second…just wanted to say hi." He pulled me in for a hug. I squeezed him tight and an amazing scent filled my nose. I guessed that it was just his scent, because I was sure no one in that venue smelled that good after jumping around and what not. We eventually pulled away from each other.

"I'll see you later?" he asked me, turning to leave.

"Yeah..see you later," I replied. He flashed a smile at me and walked off. I could feel myself blushing, and I hated myself for it. I had Pat, why was I having these feelings towards Jonathan? I just met the guy…

"Chelsea, Chelsea, tell me you love me," Brian Dales sang out. That was their closer song and it was almost over, which meant people were about to come pouring out to the merch tables. I started back for my spot at The Maine's table beside Peyton.

"That was amazing," I said as I sat down.

A few girls came and bought some merch as they were switching out the equipment. It wasn't all that bad. And then, Peyton and I noticed the lights dimmed and everyone started screaming. She looked at me.

"Do you mind if I just…?" she asked, pointing to the door.

"Go ahead," I replied, giving her a small smile. I guess it was only fair since she just let me watch The Summer Set.

"I just want to see the first few songs. I'll come back and let you go watch Pat. I promise!" she said, walking towards the door.

"Thank you!" I yelled back to her. She went through the doors, and they were propped open a good bit so I could sort of see the stage, so this was alright. They started playing a few songs when I heard footsteps. I looked around to see Jonathan walking up to me. He took a seat in Peyton's chair.

"What are you doing here? I figured you'd be in there watching," he asked me.

"That wouldn't be fair to Peyton, now would it?" I replied with. I looked over at him, and I could tell he had been staring at me the whole time. A big grin slowly formed across his face. "What is it?" I asked. I couldn't help but smile back. 

"I just noticed how pretty your eyes are, is all," he replied. I turned my head back to the stage because I didn't want him to see me blush. I was trying not to like Jonathan, but the boy was a charmer. I focused my attention to the stage to see Peyton and John were singing together. …Peyton was singing?

I quickly got up and I looked at Jonathan. "Can you watch the table for a moment? I wanna see what's going on."

"Sure, go ahead," he said with a smile. I smiled back and walked to the door. They were both singing Whoever She Is, and Peyton sounded beautiful. I'm sure she was nervous as shit, though, because usually she doesn't sing in front of people. The song ended, and John and Peyton hugged each other. I smiled and I turned on my heels to head back to the tent when I heard every single person in the crowd gasp. I turned back around to see Kennedy staring evilly at John, John on the floor holding his bloody nose, and Peyton trying to help John up. I quickly ran to the merch table.

"Jonathan, something happened and I need to go back stage now. Can you please sit here until I get back?" I asked him swiftly. I needed to see what happened.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll stay," he answered. He was a really nice guy. I dashed to the door that led backstage, showed my pass to the security guy, and walked around trying to find everyone. I finally found a room that held Peyton and John.

"What the fuck happened?" I asked, a little out of breath.

"Who's watching the merch stand?" Peyton asked me, sounding irritated.

"Jonathan is!" I answered. I started inching closer to them.

"I don't mean to be a bitch, Julia, but now is not the time." Peyton yelled. I just turned around and made my way back to the merch table. I don't why she talked to me like that. I didn't do anything. I got back to the merch table to see it being surrounded by women, which I'm sure it's because Jonathan was there. I made my way around them all to join Jonathan, Garrett, and Pat sitting down, kind of having their own conversation. I wouldn't blame them. All I could hear from the crowd of girls was "Why?"; "Who was that girl?"; "Why wasn't that me?"; and just a bunch of shit I'm sure they didn't want to answer. Jonathan and Pat were in mine and Peyton's seats, and Garrett sat on the floor. I took a seat in Pat's lap and he put his arms around my waist, which caused the girls to get even louder and ask even more retarded questions.

"Well, we're up next, so I need to find my band mates," Jonathan said, standing up. "I'll see you guys after our set." He looked at me before he walked off, gave me a sad half smile, and then walked off. Luckily, all the females started following him, and thank god, because a few seconds after they all left, John came over to us and sat down where Jonathan just was. He was holding a paper towel or something against his nose. He looked over at me.

"You okay?" he asked. I don't think I was the one we should be worrying about.

"I'm fine, but look at you," I replied. He just shrugged and shook his head.  
No one really said anything for a few minutes after that; we all just kind of looked around at each other, not knowing what to even say. Finally, John broke the silence.

"I don't know what to do," he said quietly. He was looking at the ground as he talked.

"About what? Kenny?" Pat asked.

John shrugged. "Well…yeah. I mean, I guess it's obvious we both like Peyton. But Kennedy's my best friend. And hell, I haven't even thought about Halvo..." He buried his face in his hands.

"Well, man, was kissing her on stage like that in front of everyone worth it?" Garrett asked. As soon as he asked that, we heard the crowd going crazy. We all looked over to the stage as we saw Forever The Sickest Kids going onto the stage. John stood up and started to walk off. As he did, he quietly answered Garrett's question.

"Yeah, it was. I think I love her."


	16. More Than A Feeling

"What the fuck was that, Kennedy?" I yelled in his face.

"What do you mean? What the fuck was what?" he replied, calmly, a hint of smirk pulling at his lips.

"Really?" I shoved him, "REALLY?"

"Whoa, calm down, Pey," he held his hands in front of him so I wouldn't push him anymore.

"CALM DOWN? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU JUST PUNCHED YOUR BEST FRIEND, ON STAGE, DURING A SHOW!"

"And you kissed him, onstage, during a show," he slowly replied.

"He kissed me." I pointed out.

"Oh, and you didn't kiss him back?"

"Not the point."

"It's inappropriate to kiss someone in a band on stage in front of fans. It looks bad. John should have known that."

"So you punched him?" I asked, not trying to keep my voice down at all. We were in a dressing room, and nobody could hear us.

"He will live," he shrugged and smiled. I just rolled my eyes. I was not amused.

"Why? Why did you punch him?" I asked. He took his time in answering. It looked as if he was debating on whether or not to tell me.

"I don't know. It was a rush that I got. I think it was a mixture of rage and jealousy," he finally said.

"Rage?" I asked.

"You just broke up with Halvo, Peyton. You told me you weren't looking for a boyfriend, and then you go and make out with John on stage," he shook his head.

"I know, it wasn't like I was expecting it…" I whispered, looking down at the ground and kicking the floor with my shoe.

"John gets around Peyton, I just don't want to see you get hurt," he whispered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I looked up.

"Why were you jealous?" I finally asked. He just sighed and dropped his hand.

"It's not a secret that I like you. I thought you knew that. I have been carrying this guilt around. I've liked you for a while; even when you were dating Halvo. Unlike John, I can wait patiently for my chance. I will get my chance with you, Peyton. I know you felt something when we kissed last night. You had to have felt something. I did…" he trailed off, now looking into my eyes.

"I d-"

"Let's go, Kennedy. We have to go meet the fans outside." Jared poked his head in the door. Kennedy looked over at him and nodded and then looked back at me.

"This conversation is far from over, Peyton. Give me an hour, and then we need to talk," he said, kissing my forehead like he had done so many times before. I never thought he meant any of them other than a friendly gesture. I guess there was more to Kennedy than I thought. And then he turned and followed Jared to face the hoard of teenagers awaiting them outside.

I left the room and went to go find Julie. I had some major apologizing to do. I headed for the merch stand. There she was, talking to Jonathan Cook. No girls were around, I guess they all went outside to meet The Maine.

"No fan girls swooning over you Jonathan?" I asked him, smiling. He looked at me and stood up.

"Nope," was all he said. He looked down at Julia and told her goodbye, then walked towards the door that lead outside of the venue.

"Why does he hate me?" I asked, getting really frustrated.

"I don't know," she replied. She look tired. I felt horrible.

"I am sorry I yelled at you JuJuBees. I just had so much going on and-"

"It's okay. I understand,"

"I feel like such a bitch today." I stated, sitting down in the empty seat next to her.

"You are a bitch today," she smiled at me.

"Gee, thanks."

"So, you and John?" she asked.

"Me and John. I don't know. Me and Kennedy. I don't know. Today has been crazy."

"Tell me about it," she closed her eyes and laid her head back.

We chatted about uninteresting things while we packed the merch up. We were tired, we were hungry, and we wanted to get the hell out of Texas. A little while later John walked in and picked up the boxes of merch.

"You guys ready to head?" he asked us.

"Oh god, yes." I sighed. He balanced the boxes under one of his arms and wrapped the other one around my shoulder. I leaned into him.

"We need to talk on the bus," he whispered into my ears.

"I know." I sighed. Julia held the door open for us and then walked towards the bus. I helped John load the merch and then followed him to get on the bus. I stopped before we got on and tugged on his arm so he would face me. I studied his nose. It was bruised and the purple was spreading under his eyes. I kissed it lightly. He smiled and pulled me in for a hug, then we got on the bus. Almost everybody went to their bunks, including Pat and Julie. I didn't want to know what they were doing in there. Everybody except for Kennedy. He was sitting on the couch, staring us down.

"Let's go to the back lounge," John said, giving Kennedy an evil eye.

"Actually, Kennedy and I need to talk about something first." I said, grabbing Kenny's hand and pulling him up.

"Fine…" John sighed, walking to his bunk. I led Kenny to the back lounge and shut the door.

"So," he said, sitting on a couch.

"So." I replied, waiting for him to start talking.

"How are things?" he asked.

"Cut the shit Kennedy, we really do need to talk about this."

"I know," he sighed, laying on his side. "I don't know where to start. All of this is so confusing."

"It's messed up is what it is," I said, looking up at the ceiling.

"It is," he agreed. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot when I told you I had feelings for you, Peyton. I haven't acted on them once. Do you know how hard that was for me? Do you know how drawn to you I am?"

"No, I-"

"That first day we came over to your apartment, and you and John went outside. That was the first day I ever met you. Even though I didn't know you, I wanted to chase after you and stop you from going after him. I just feel so protective over you. John is one of my best friends, but he is bad news, and he isn't the one for you."

"And you are?" I asked, looking at him.

"I don't know. I feel like I could be good for you. I feel like you could be great for me. We won't know anything until we try. If we try."

"This is too much to accept in one night. I just broke up with my boyfriend a few days ago. I am not ready for this. Any of this."

"I know that, but when you are, I'll be here. If you want me, that is." He said, looking up at the ceiling. I stood up and walked across the small space, separating us.

"Of course I want you Kennedy. You are my rock. You are my best friend. That kiss, I felt exactly what you did. It felt like-" but he interrupted me with his lips on mine. That was twice in one night where someone shut me up with a kiss. I wasn't going to lie, it was sexy as hell. I didn't want to kiss him back, my thoughts were all jumbled. I did want to kiss him back, no, I didn't. Ugh.

I felt it all over again. That pull, that attraction. If one kiss could determine the outcome of a relationship, our relationship would outlast the apocalypse. It wasn't a heated, sexual kiss like the kiss John and I shared onstage. This kiss was slow, and sweet. He put his hand on the side of my cheek and deepened the kiss slowly. I knotted my fingers in his hair and climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. He laid down flat and rested his other hand on the small of my back. I broke the kiss only to kiss tiny butterfly kisses down his jaw-line and his neck. I stopped when I reached the collar of his shirt, and laid my head down on his chest.

"This is insane, Kennedy."

"Why?" he asked me, lightly rubbing my back.

"I went from being single basically my whole life, to being thrown into feelings and relationships all with-in one month, with multiple guys."

"This month has been weird, I guess," he agreed.

"I don't know what to do, Kennedy."

"Yes you do."

"I do?" I asked, confused.

"What do I always tell you?"

"Follow my heart,"

"I know what I am talking about sometimes. In this case, you should listen to me. For once," he chuckled and kissed my forehead. I thought about that for a minute or two.

"Alright, if I am going to follow my heart…" I finally spoke up, standing up and opening the door. I walked to John's bunk and slid the curtain open. I grabbed his hand and pulled him out, leading him to the back lounge. As soon as Kennedy saw that I was dragging John in there, he tensed up.

"Sit down, John." I demanded. He took a seat on the couch that was on the opposite side of the room from the one Kennedy was sitting on.

"Here's the deal. I am not ready to date. I don't want a boyfriend. I want to have time to get over Eric without adding the extra pressure of more guys and more feelings. I want both of you to give me space and let me breathe. I want both of you to forget about any feelings you have for me."

They both just stared at me like I had grown two heads or something.

"Peyton, I can't-"

"Yes, you can," I cut John off.

"But Pey-"

"No. I am serious about this." I said as I cut Kennedy off as well. With that, I turned on my heel and slid Garrett's curtain open.

"Do you mind if I crash with you tonight? I may get raped if I sleep on the couch," I joked. He smiled and slid over.

"Thank you GDNicks!" I smiled and climbed in.

"Don't call me that!" he grumbled.

"Why not?"

"Because, it makes me think of Stevie Nicks, and I am not Stevie Nicks."

"Too bad," I yawned.

"Is everything okay?" he asked me, generally sounding like he cared how I was holding up.

"Everything's screwed up, but it will be okay. I think I fixed everything. Maybe tomorrow's show will be free of violence."

"Let's hope so," he smiled and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight Garrett," I whispered, closing my eyes.

"Goodnight Peyton," he replied, already drifting to sleep.

I woke up to the sound of snap, crackle, and popping in my ear. Garrett was munching on some Rice Krispie Treats cereal.

"I didn't feel you get up, I must have been dead." I said groggily, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Nah, I keep snacks and a mini fridge under my bunk. The guys don't know about it. I get Tim to sneak it on here before every tour. They think I keep my clothes down there so they never bother it. I am trusting you with this secret, don't let me down, Peyton," he grinned, stuffing another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

"Your secret is safe with me, GDNicks," I smiled and rolled out of the bunk.

"Thank you, PESmith!" he replied. "Haha! PE!" he laughed.

"Haha, shut up, at least mine isn't the initials for a curse word." I replied, about to close the curtain on his bunk.

"In school, PE was the devil, it is a curse word," he replied. I giggled and closed the curtain. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I piled my hair in a messy bun on the top of my head and then headed back out. I looked out of the window to see that we were driving through somewhere with a lot of trees.

"Where are we?" I asked Jared, who was lounging on the couch.

"We are in Louisiana," he replied.

"Oh sweet!" I smiled, and looked back out of the window.

"Morning," John grumbled as he walked in wearing pajama pants, and to my enjoyment, and also discomfort, no shirt. He walked straight to the coffee pot and made himself a cup.

"Morning," I replied. He looked over at me for a second and then back down at his coffee mug.

"Do you want a cup, Peyton?" he asked me.

"Please, with a lot of-"

"Cream and sugar, I know how you like it," he sighed and fixed it. He placed the mug in my hands and sat down across from me. I took a sip and mentally smacked myself.

"Blech," I made a face and set the mug on the table.

"Is it bad?" he asked, almost looking hurt.

"No, I just brushed my teeth," I smiled at him.

"Be thankful it wasn't orange juice then," Jared chimed in, still looking out of the window. I giggled. Jared stood up and walked to the back lounge to play video games, I suppose, leaving John and I alone. Just what I needed.

"We never got a chance to talk last night Peyton."

"I know, and I am sorry for that. I just don't think anything good would come from us talking, John. I don't think anything you say could make me change my mind."

"Oh," was all he replied with. He downed the rest of his coffee and walked over to put the mug in the sink. He stood there for a second before turning around and looking at me.

"It's not fair that you and Kennedy got to talk and we didn't. I had something I wanted to tell you."

I just sighed and looked away from him. He had a point, but did I really want to hear what he had to say? A selfish part of me did, because I wanted to hear what the infamous John O'Callaghan had to say about his feelings towards me. The other part of me didn't, because I was still holding on to that tiny piece of hope that Halvo and I would patch things up. That was the first time I had allowed myself to freely think about that. I did though, I wanted Halvo and I to work out. He was the first guy I have ever allowed myself to fully fall for. I wanted him to be the last.

"I'm sorry, John." I finally spoke up. He just grunted and looked out of the window behind my head. We were silent for a long time until I finally broke the silence.

"John, do you mind if I used your phone to call my dad?"

"Where's your phone?"

"I left it at home. I didn't want to bring any drama with me. Guess it didn't work."

"Here," he said, tossing me his phone. I caught it and walked to John's empty bunk. I looked over at him to make sure it was okay, he nodded. I climbed in and shut the curtain, not that it would block any of the sound out. I dialed the number and waited for my dad to pick up. My dad was my favorite person in the world, he was there for me whenever I needed him, and he understood me, which was more than I could say for most people.

"Hello?" he answered the phone, not knowing the number.

"Hey daddy!" I replied, smiling at the sound of his voice.

"Hey baby! How's life on tour?" he asked. I filled him in. I filled him on everything, boy problems, the show last night, the drama. He just chuckled.

"Do I need to come there and kick some asses?" he asked.

"No daddy, you taught me everything. I can kick my own asses." I smiled. I missed him so much already.

"How's Julia doing?" he asked. Julia was like his other daughter.

"Oh she's fine. She has a boyfriend now. He's the drummer for The Maine actually."

"She has a boyfriend that I didn't approve of first?" he sounded hurt, but I knew he was joking.

"You would approve of this one, daddy. He thinks the sun shines out of her ass. They are cute together."

"How about these Jake and Ken characters? Do you see yourself ending up with either of them, P?" he asked. I hated when he called me "P," it made me think of going to the bathroom.

"It's John and Kennedy, dad. I could see myself being happy with either one honestly, but I miss Eric." I sighed.

"I liked Eric. He made you happy," dad replied.

"I think I almost loved Eric." I sighed.

"I could tell just by the way you looked at him. He was the first guy you ever brought home." He paused for a moment and then he said, " Well P, just keep me posted. I have to go; I'm working on a big case for work. I hate cutting this short because we barely talk anymore, but I love you baby. Say hello to Julia for me. Tell her I miss her."

"I love you too, daddy, and I will." I sniffled. I missed him so much. I hadn't seen him for a few weeks, which was rare for us. I usually went to see him every day.

"Bye love," he said, and then the line went dead. I sighed and set the phone down on John's bed. I looked around the bunk, and wondered how I hadn't seen this until now. He had pictures hanging everywhere. I smiled as I looked them all over. He had pictures of him and his dad, his mom, his brothers. He had pictures of all of his friends. He had a picture of Halvo hanging up, and I stared at it. Just seeing his face tugged on my heartstrings.

John also had a picture of the two of us hanging up. I didn't remember taking it. I looked closely and I saw feet dangling off of a table to the side of us. I smiled as I realized where the picture was taken. It was at the party we had at our apartment over a month ago. The feet dangling off of the table belonged to Halvo. John had a red solo cup in one hand, and his other arm thrown around my shoulder. I had my arms slung around his torso. We both had big, cheesy grins on. I couldn't remember meeting him that night, but it looked as if we hit it off. I looked closer and read the cup. It said, "Dick Cheese." I laughed to myself. I must have made that drink for him. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the wall. I slid the curtain open and looked at John.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, everything's fine." I said, picking up his phone and handing it back to him. The next thing that came out of my mouth surprised John, and it even surprised me. I guess it was seeing the picture that made me change my mind. "You were right John; we should have a chance to talk." I hugged my knees to my chest to make room and patted the bed in front of me. He sat down, and I slid the curtain closed again.

I waited for him to say something. It took him a while, he looked deep in thought.

"Peyton, I am falling for you. Pretty fast, and pretty hard," he finally said, looking at his hands. "I know this isn't the right time for you, and I know you have a lot to deal with right now, I just thought you should know that I can't just make my feelings for you just disappear."

"How are you falling for me John? We didn't start really hanging out until a few days ago. "

"You really don't remember me, do you?" he asked, finally looking up at me.

"Remember you? What are you talking about?"

"I thought you would have remembered the night at the party, but you didn't. I recognized you instantly, you haven't changed a bit."

"We already knew each other?" I asked, wearing a slightly confused look on my face.

"Think about it, and come find me when you remember," he smiled, and hopped off of the bunk. I sighed. How was I supposed to know where I knew him from? I shrugged and continued looking at the pictures lining his bunk.

I turned around and looked at the last wall of pictures. My eyes scanned the many pictures of all of the friends he left back home. My eyes locked on a picture in the corner and I gasped when I saw the 10 year old version of me, looking right back. My arms were wrapped around the 10 year old version of John. I studied the picture. He was right, I basically looked the same. He however, looked totally different. The picture was taken at Camp Cosby, where I spent almost every summer of my childhood.

I bounded off of the bed and ran down the narrow hallway. I threw my arms around John. "CORNY!" I screamed.

"Lainey," he whispered in my ear. We went by our middle names at Camp, because so many people had the same first name. People's parents weren't very creative anymore. Everybody made fun of John's middle name, so I started calling him Corny. It caught on pretty quick. He called me Lainey, because there was another girl with the middle name 'Elaine.' "It didn't take you long to figure it out."

"I saw the picture in your bunk." I said, still holding onto him. He was my best friend during my camp days, we did everything together. We put bugs down the back of the camp director's shirts when they didn't choose to do the activity John and I wanted to do. We lit firecrackers in the "D House," because that was where all of the bitches that made fun of me slept. When one of us was in trouble, the other was too, because we wouldn't want the other to be bored when they had to sit through their punishment. We were inseparable.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner, John?" I asked.

"I wanted to see how long it would take you to figure it out. I gave you a month. I figured if you didn't remember it by now, then you were never going to remember."

"I always wondered what happened to you," I said, pulling out of his embrace and looking up into his eyes. "You did pretty good for yourself, kid." I smiled at him.

"You are as beautiful as ever, Lainey," he smiled back and pulled me close to him again.

"I can't believe this. It's like finding something you thought you lost years ago. It always makes you so happy. Or like when you find 40 dollars in a coat pocket you haven't worn in year!"

"How is this like that?" he asked me, chuckling.

"It just makes me happy!" I replied, holding onto him tighter, like he may just disappear from my sight, even though I knew he wasn't going anywhere.

"It doesn't surprise me that you ended up being a musician," I stated. He just chuckled. John always got in trouble at camp for singing at inappropriate times. He also got in trouble for singing inappropriate lyrics. "That's how you knew I didn't sing in front of people." It all made sense now.

"I knew that the only way to get you to do it was put you on the spot," he kissed the top of my head.

"I missed you, Corny," I sighed.

"I've been right here, right next to you, for like the past three days. What do you mean you missed me," he joked.

"You know what I mean."

"I've missed you too, kid."

"Get a bunk," Julia yawned, walking into the kitchen area. John chuckled and let me go. I didn't want him to. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Louisiana," I replied, sitting down on the couch. John walked to the back of the bus.

"What was that about?" she asked, "What's with the creepy, scary smile on your face? You look like a pedo."

"Remember when I used to bore you with all of my Camp Cosby stories?" I asked her.

"Oh yes. All you talked about was you and that Carrot, Corn, Collard Greens kid, whatever his name was. It was some vegetable."

"Corny." I smiled.

"Right, that one. What about it?" she asked, sitting down next to me.

"I found Corny."

"Uh," she looked confused.

"What's John's middle name?" I asked, hoping she caught on.

"Cornelius. Holy shit. It's a small world after all," she chuckled and laid her head on my shoulder.

"Anyways, how was your night. In a cramped bunk. With Patrick Kirch?" I asked her. "Hot and steamy, I hope."

"Well, how was your night in a cramped bunk with whoever you slept with? I got up to pee and you weren't on the couch. Kennedy or John?"

"Garrett."

"Garrett? You're making this a love square? The triangle wasn't complicated enough!"

"Ha-ha. Very funny. You are forgetting that it already is a love square. Halvo." I rolled my eyes.

"Well shit. A love pentagon? Oh screw it, I hate geometry," she sighed.

"My dad said hey and that he misses you." I recited his message to her. She smiled.

"I need to call my mom, I guess."

"Nah, I wouldn't." I said. She wasn't very close with her mom. She hated me. Julia chuckled and then stood up, walking back to Pat's bunk. I looked out of the window again, enjoying the sunshine.

"Morning," Kennedy said from behind me. I turned around to look at him. It looked as if he hadn't slept. Not really my problem. He sat down in the seat that was the farthest away from me.

"Morning Kenny," I replied cheerfully. I wanted to put everything from yesterday behind me. "Excited to go to New Orleans?"

He just ignored me and looked out of his window. I waited a few minutes before I said anything.

"Really?" I asked. He just continued to look out of the window.

"It's going to be like this?" I spat out, standing up.

"Like what, Peyton?" he finally spoke up, looking at me.

"You, ignoring me? I'd expect this childish behavior from John, not you. We are best friends Kennedy." He just rolled his eyes and looked back out of the window.

"PULL OVER THE FUCKING BUS, PHIL!" I yelled, still staring at Kennedy. My blood was boiling and I just needed to vent.

"I can't, you know the rules. Number two's only," he said, keeping his eyes on the road. I didn't have time for this.

"I HAVE TO SHIT, JUST PULL OVER THE FUCKING BUS," I yelled even louder. Some of the guys poked their heads out of their bunks. I didn't care how dumb I sounded.

"Oh, an emergency number two," Phil said, pushing down on the gas pedal.

We pulled into a Pilot gas station and I ran off of the bus. I ran behind it and started kicking things. I kicked rocks as hard as I could. I kicked the tires a few time. I screamed as loud as I could. I kicked the back of the bus and instantly regretted it. I heard a crunch, and instantly knew I broke my foot. I had done it once before playing soccer in high school. I kicked the goal post on accident and it felt pretty much the same. My eyes started to water and I screamed even louder. I sucked it up, and tried to walk on it normal so nobody would make a fuss over it. I walked back onto the bus and took a seat on the couch nearest to the door so I wouldn't have to walk far.

"You lied to me," Phil said, smiling. I just laughed and nodded.

"Sorry Philip! I just needed to blow off some steam."

"If you needed to blow something, you could have just come back here!" Garrett yelled. Julia opened the curtain to Pat's bunk and threw Pat's shoe at Garrett, who was sitting in the back room. It hit him and a string of curse words were heard throughout the whole bus. I laughed and looked at Julie. She looked back at me and winked, then closed the curtain back.

"I'm sorry," Kennedy finally spoke up, standing up.

"For what?" I asked, trying to breathe through the pain.

"I was selfish and didn't really stop to think about how much you have going on in your life right now."

"I just want my best friend back, Kenny."

"Right," he said, and turned to walk back to his bunk. I was in too much pain to try and stop him to talk some more. I didn't think it would help at all. I felt bad for The Maine as a band. It wasn't until I came on tour with them did they start having problems. Kennedy and John weren't speaking. That was my fault.

The bus came to a stop a little while later. I looked out of the window and we were at the New Orleans House of Blues. The boys all came to the front of bus and stretched. John smiled at me and I tried to smile back, but my foot was throbbing. I needed to go to the hospital ASAP.

They all filed off of the bus, but when Julie passed me, I grabbed her arm and pulled her down next to me.

"Jeez, what?" she asked.

"I think I broke my foot."

"You think you broke your foot?" she asked again, slowly. I rolled my eyes and gently pulled my shoe off. My foot was swollen and it was black and blue.

"Holy shit," she said, looking away. "That's disgusting." Just then John walked back onto the bus.

"I forgot my… What did you do Peyton?" he asked, looking down at my foot.

"Nothing, I just think I broke my foot. I was going to get Julie to take me to the hospital."

"I can't. Someone has to stay and set up merch. We are behind schedule as it is."

"Well, I can drive myself."

"No, you can't. Besides, what are you going to drive?" he asked, making me feel stupid.

"I'll live, just help me go inside."

They both helped me hobble off of the bus and into the lot with the other buses and vans.

"I just need to go in and sit down or something." I sighed, already tired of having to get help to fucking walk. This was ridiculous.

"Hey John," John Ohh called out as John Gomez was passing by.

"Yeah?" John said, directing his attention to John, then to me, and then to my foot. A look of sympathy flashed on his face.

"Can we borrow your van? I need to take Peyton to the hospital."

"You don't need to take her to the hospital, you need to sound check. You guys are always the last ones anywhere. Go, I will take her." He replied, replacing John's body with his own for my support. John Ohh looked uneasy for a moment, but finally nodded. Julia let go of my other side and went to set up merch. John followed her inside of the venue. I suddenly felt awkward, seeing as how I had just met John yesterday.

"How did you manage to do that?" he asked, being patient while I tried to hop my way to the van.

"I turned into Hulk a little while ago. Except, when I kicked the bus, it didn't break. My foot did." I said between gritted teeth as I continued to experience the worse pain in my life, throbbing every time I hopped. John placed his hand behind my knee and lifted up, carrying me bridal style the rest of the way to the bus. I smiled at him, thankful that I didn't have to hop anymore.

The drive to the hospital wasn't so bad. He drove slower that my grandmother, going easy over any bumps or potholes that crossed our path.

"Do you even know where we are going?" I asked, looking around the confusing New Orleans streets. My dad used to live here when he was in the military. I had been here many times, but not enough to know where anything was.

"Oh yes. I have been to this hospital before. Jobe acciently backed into Brian's marshmallow roasting metal rod thing, do those things actually have a name?" I just laughed and shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Well anyways, he backed up and it got stuck in his ass-cheek. I will never forget that ride to the hospital. He stood up the whole way, screaming like a baby."

"Oh, poor Jobe," I said, letting the scene play out in my head. I couldn't help but laugh. He put the van in park as soon as we pulled into a parking space.

"You know, you only have a few hours before you guys go on. ER's take a while. You can just leave me here and-"

"NO MAN LEFT BEHIND!" he shouted as he opened his door and ran around the van to mine. He opened it and lifted me out of the van. I giggled. He walked through the double doors and there were a million people in there.

"WE NEED A DOCTOR!" he screamed dramatically. "Play dead," he whispered to me. I went limp in his arms.

"WE NEED A DOCTOR, SHE'S FADING! WE'RE LOSING HER!" he screamed. I heard footsteps come running up and I felt myself being lifted out of John's arms.

"What happened," the doctor asked, laying me on a gurney.

"She Hulked out sir. She Hulked out and she went crazy," he said, and I tried not to laugh.

"Is this a joke?" the doctor asked, his voice laced with venom.

"Well, we think she broke her foot. We are just crunched for time." John replied, in an easy going tone that I was beginning to learn was just how John was 24/7.

"You have got to be kidding me," the doctor said. I sat up and crossed my arms.

"We really are in a hurry, sir."

"Cut the dramatics. What is with you kids these days? This is a hospital, not a god damned amusement park. Go wait your turn like everyone else," he said, pointing to the waiting room.

"She's already on the gurney sir," John smiled at him.

"GO!" the doctor shouted. John looked at me and smiled, and I smiled back. It was worth a shot. He picked me up again and started walking back to the waiting room.

"Flip him off," he whispered. So, I did. He sat me down in a chair and made sure I was comfortable.

"I'll go sign you in. Or, I'll just bring the sign in to you since I don't know anything other than your first name," he said, walking backwards to the desk. I nodded and then laid my head back in the chair. My foot was killing me.

Ten minutes had passed and John was still at the desk, talking to some blonde receptionist. He walked back over and held out his hand for me to take.

"What?" I asked, taking it. He lifted me up and proceeded to pick me up.

"Leila, who by the way is a big fan of The Summer Set, is letting us skip everybody."

"Oh, you are so famous, John." I winked at him. "You know, I could hop, or there are wheelchairs, or-"

"No, I like carrying you. I feel like a manly man."

After much poking, prodding, pain, x-rays, and John getting yelled at by the nurse for playing with everything he got his hands on, we were out. I was rocking a brand new purple cast, and some crutches.

"That only took an hour and a half. If we book it, I won't miss our set," John said, helping me in to the van.

"I told you, you could have left me here and sent someone to pick me up later. I wouldn't have minded."

"No way! Did you see the look John gave me before he entrusted me with his precious cargo? No sir. I wouldn't want to have to give him another black eye, you know, if he started a little something-something."

"Precious cargo? Oh please."

"You just don't see what everyone else does."

"I don't?"

"I've known John for a while. I've seen how he is with girls. Never have I ever seen him look at anyone else the way he looks at you."

I silently thought about this the whole way back to the venue. Why was life so complicated?

"My foot still hurts like a bitch," I sighed.

"They gave you pain pills," John reminded me.

"I know, but I don't want to be loopy when I sing with John tonight. I am just going to wait until after that."

"That's hours away. Do you want to sing like a dying cat? Singing and pain don't mix well. Like oil and water."

"Orange juice and toothpaste." I replied, nodding in agreement.. I hadn't thought of that. I grabbed an Arizona Green Tea out of the box in the back seat and popped a pill into my mouth. One couldn't hurt, right?

"AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!" John Gomez and I belted out as we arrived back at the venue.

"We finished just in time!" he smiled, giving me a high-five. I missed and ended up hitting his face. He chuckled and readjusted his glasses. I opened my door and stumbled to the ground, trying to keep my cast from hitting. I'm sure I looked like a train wreck, trying to keep my balance, drugged, and trying to keep my still wet cast from touching the ground. Soon enough, John's arms stabilized me and handed me my crutches.

"Thank you, John. What are you doing? RUN BABY GO, RUN! YOU HAVE A SHOW TO PLAYYYY." He just shook his head and tried not to laugh at how dumb I was being.

"Let's go find John. I can't leave you alone."

"Eh, he's probably busy. Julia can Peyton-sit." I replied, smiling what I could imagine was a very cheesy grin.

"Right, then. TO MERCH!" he said, pointing out the direction.

"John, I am tired. Can I have a piggy back ride?" I smiled angelically at him.

"Haven't I carried you around enough today?" he joked, grabbing my crutches. I hopped on his back and held on for dear life.

"I LIKE BIG BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE, YOU OTHER BROTHERS CAN'T DENY!" John and I sang as we entered the House of Blues. Julia was just staring at us.

"What is wrong with her?" Julie asked, poking me.

"Hey!" I whined, and hopped off of John's back. I instantly regretted it as my cast came into contact with the floor rather hard and pain throbbed throughout my whole leg.

"FUCK, BUGGER, WANKER, SHIT, COCK, ASS, TITS, BALLS" I screamed. A few of the employees who worked there were just staring at me.

"Wow, do you eat with that mouth?" John asked, pulling up a chair behind me. "She is on some strong pain medication," he said, finally answering Julia's question.

"Oh, great. I guess I will be manning this by myself AGAIN tonight?" she asked, looking at me.

"But Julie! I will be here. I will just be OBSERVING." I whisper-yelled and then giggled.

"I can't babysit AND sell merch. Not if I am going to do it alone."

"I just need someone to watch her while we are onstage, and then I can resume my babysitting duties afterwards," he said, giving Julia the puppy-dog look.

"Yeah Julie! He only needs you to babysit for an eency weency bit of time. HEY! Nobody needs to babysit me! I am twenty-one years old!" They both ignored me.

"Well, I can go see if I can find John." John said, motioning for me to hop on his back again.

"YES! " I shouted, hopping on. "SLOW RIDE! Duh nuh, nuh nuh nuh, nuh nuh nuh, nuh nuh. TAKE IT EASYYYYY!" I sang as John walked away from the merch stand to find Corny. Along the way we ran into Jonathan Cook.

"Hey Jonathan, do you know where John is?" John asked him, shifting my weight so that he could carry me easier.

"I think he's in the back room." Jonathan replied, looking at me.

"Jonathan, why do you hate me?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"I don't hate you."

"I call bullshit!" I said, in a sing-song voice.

"I don't hate you, okay Peyton. Just drop it," he said, walking away like he always did.

"Denial," I sighed, and John laughed. We continued on our hunt for John O'Callaghan. We finally found him in the back room. With a girl.

"CORNY!" I yelled as soon as we crossed the threshold. John gently placed me on the ground.

"Lainey, what's… going on?" he asked.

"I am all fixed," I said, pointing to my cast.

"She's also very drugged. Can you just, keep an eye on her? I have to be on stage like, three minutes ago."

"Uh, sure," John said looking back at the blonde sitting on the couch.

"GO BABY GOHH, GO!" I shouted after him as he ran to the stage.

"Feel better?" John asked me, helping me over to a seat.

"Of course I feel better!" I looked over at the blonde. "Hi! I am Peyton!"

"Quinn," was all she replied with, giving me a sour face.

"Nice to meet you, Quinn."

"Yeah."

I was trying to be nice to the herpes infested skank. What was her deal?

"I guess I'm going to go. John do you have my number?" she asked.

"Yeah, I have it."

"Call me," she said seductively. I made gagging noises and acted like I was sticking my finger down my throat. She rolled her eyes and kissed John's cheek before exiting the room.

"Real mature, Peyton."

"Who was she? She was such a bitch!"

"Just a girl," he shrugged.

"Just a girl, or you know, _just a girl?_" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Jesus Christ Lainey, does it matter?" he asked, getting irritated.

"Doesn't it?"

"Why would it matter?"

"What do you mean why would it matter?" We sat in silence for a long time and I could slowly feel my pain meds start to wear off. That was my problem, they worked great, but they wore off too fast.

"You told me last night to ignore any feelings for you I had," he finally spoke up.

"Things change John," I said quietly. The room was filled with silence for a while. Then John killed it, again.

"Things don't fucking change. You want me now because of our past? Because of our childhood?"

"Yes." I said.

"We aren't the same people anymore Peyton. You may not like who I am."

"Why are you all of a sudden pushing me away?"

"Because, you are sitting there looking hot as hell all fired up, and if I don't push you away, I will be the douchebag who makes a move on his best friend's ex while she is medicated," he replied.

"The drugs are wearing off Corny. I don't want to keep pretending we couldn't be something. We could be. Fuck all of the drama and bullshit."

He was quiet for a minute, thinking. "If Quinn hadn't have been in here when you came in, none of this would have happened. You were jealous. Admit it."

"I was jealous."

"I didn't think you actually would," he sighed.

"I'm sorry for everything John," I said, standing up and wrapping my arms around him.

"So am I."

"What do you have to be sorry for?"

"Oh, you know, sorry for Kennedy when he finds out that you can't resist me," he winked. I just rolled my eyes.

"So, how did you break your foot?" he asked after yet another long silence.

"I kicked the bus."

"Why?"

"Life has hated me for a long time."

"Does life still hate you?" he asked, pulling me closer.

"Well, I suppose it hates me a little less.**" **I replied, kissing him softly.


	17. Such A Beautiful Dreamer

"Well, that was … unexpected," Pat said, breaking the silence that had overcome us when John said he loved Peyton. That whole night was just crazy. We were all just sitting there, watching Forever The Sickest Kids through the doors when we saw Jared walking towards us.

"Guys, we need to go outside and meet fans. Forever The Sickest Kids is almost done," he said to the boys. Pat spanked my side, which meant for me to get up, so I did. He hugged me and pressed his lips against mine. His lips were so soft…I loved kissing him. I put my hands around his neck and he slowly deepened the kiss. It was very unexpected, and totally hot. Neither one of us were pulling away, and Pat was really getting into it. I finally pulled away.

"Come on now, you don't need to go meet your fans all rowdy like this," I said to him with a smile on my face. He let out a soft chuckle and ran his hand down my arm, which gave me goose bumps.

"Can we finish this later?" he asked in a very low, seductive tone. This was really unexpected.

"Sure," I replied. He kissed my nose and went to join Garrett and Jared, who were already outside. As soon as they left, a few people came and bought some shirts, nothing really terrible. I kind of wished Peyton was there to help me, because she was better with people than I was, but oh well. As they all left, I sat down and I wiped the sweat from my forehead. I was ready to get out of here. A few seconds later, I heard footsteps walking towards the tent. I looked to my side to see yet again, Jonathan Cook walking towards me. He was making it hard to get over the feelings I was starting to develop for him. He sat down beside me, looked at me, and smiled.

"Tired?" he asked me. Like it wasn't obvious.

"Of course," I replied.

He chuckled, crossed his arms, and leaned back a little. "Did you catch any of our show?"

"I had to watch from here," I said.

He shrugged. "Eh, tonight wasn't really a good performance anyways. Will you watch the show tomorrow?" He uncrossed his arms and put his hand on my knee. Goose bumps.

"Yeah, I will."

He tightened his grip on my knee. "Promise?"

I smiled at him. "I promise." We both turned our heads because we heard footsteps coming towards us. Jonathan quickly took his hand off my knee before they came around the corner. It was just Peyton.

"No fan girls swooning over you Jonathan?" she asked him. He looked at her and stood up.

"Nope," he replied. He looked down at me. "I'm gonna go. I'll talk to you later. Bye Julia." He walked off without saying anything to Peyton. He didn't even look at her.

"Why does he hate me?" she asked, sounding irritated.

"I don't know," I replied. A look of sorrow appeared over her face.

"I am sorry I yelled at you JuJuBees. I just had so much going on and-"

"It's okay. I understand," I interrupted. Peyton had a lot on her hands at that time.

"I feel like such a bitch today," she stated as she sat down next to me.

"You are a bitch today," I said, smiling at her.

"Gee, thanks."

"So, you and John?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Me and John. I don't know. Me and Kennedy. I don't know. Today has been crazy."

"Tell me about it," I said as I laid my head back and closed my eyes. First night of tour and I already wish it was over.

We talked about things that everyone else would find uninteresting while we packed up everything.. A little while later John walked in and picked up the boxes of merch.

"You guys ready to head?" he asked us.

"Oh god, yes." Peyton said with a sigh. I ran in front of them so I could open the door for them and we proceeded to go to the bus. I immediately crawled into Pat's bunk, and he followed behind me. He closed the curtain and turned to face me. He put his hands on my face and started rubbing my cheeks with his thumbs. I put my hands on his waist. He pulled me in for a deep, passionate kiss. That went on for a while, then he placed one of his hands on my side and started rubbing it, then he began to lift my shirt up. I quickly pulled my shirt back down and pulled away from the kiss.

"What's wrong?" he asked, still rubbing the side of my face with one of his hands.

"You want to do this, when we are in a bus full of people," I replied. "That's a no-go."

He removed his hands from my face and side and put them on my waist to pull me in close to him. "You're right, I'm sorry. Our first time needs to be romantic," he whispered. "Want to just go to sleep?"

"Yeah. We both had tiring days," I replied, nuzzling my head into his chest. He tightened his grip around me.

"Goodnight, Julia."

"Goodnight Pat."

I woke up to find myself alone in the bunk. I got out and I looked around, and no one else was in their bunk…no one else was in the bus. It was empty, and it was stopped. I ignored how shitty I looked, and I walked outside to find we were parked in the middle of nowhere. By nowhere, I mean we were in the middle of a field. Just a plain field, nothing surrounding me, not even people.

"Hello? Anyone?" I yelled, walking around. No one replied. What was going on? Was I on Punk'd or some shit? I was about to break down and cry when I heard something coming from behind me.

"Julia, I'm right here." I turned around to see Jonathan behind me. I pulled him into a very tight hug, and he hugged back. I pulled away and looked at him.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

"Nothing, just…nothing, here, come here," he replied, grabbing my hand and pulling me with him as he walked.

"There's nothing out here, it's just…" I stopped when I saw a blanket on the ground. "A blanket?"

"Lie down with me," he whispered. We both got down and rested on our backs.

"Why are we out here?" I asked, looking at him.

"I wanted time, just me and you," he replied.

"Oh…well, where is everyone else?"

"Just me and you, Julia…" he trailed off. He took his pinky finger and locked it with my pinky finger. He let out a sigh. "Julia, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Do you like me?"

I felt a lump in my throat. I didn't know how to answer this. If I said yes, what if he told Pat? If I said no, would that upset him? I swallowed and I answered.

"I like you, Jonathan. But you know I have Pat."

"Pat who?" He rolled over on top of me and started to kiss me. I pulled back. "What're you doing?"

"You like me, and I like you. This needs to happen, Julia," he replied as he was leaning back down to kiss me again. I pulled back once more.

"I can't do this to Pat, Jonathan…"

"Who is Pat? There's no one named Pat here." He leaned back down and kissed me again, but this time it was deep. I closed my eyes and put my arms around him and deepened the kiss. This was wrong, and I'd probably end up telling Pat later….but it felt…right. He slowly started to lift up my shirt, and I did the same for him. He kissed me down my body, until he got to the rim of my shorts. Then he took them off. Eventually, both of us were undressed, and he started kissing me again. He then pulled back.

"Julia…hey Julia….." His voice was fading away, and my vision was beginning to become very blurry. "Julia…wake up…"

"Julia, are you okay?" Pat's voice asked me. I opened my eyes to find myself in the bunk with Pat by my side. All of that was a dream. Great. First I have Cameron dreams, and now Jonathan dreams?

"Yeah…just a bad dream," I replied, wiping my eyes. He kissed my cheek.

"Well, it's over now. You don't have to see whatever was bothering you anymore." I wish it was that easy.

"Yeah….will you get me some water?" I asked him. It still felt like I had a lump in my throat. He nodded and left the bunk. I put my head back down on my pillow and closed my eyes…

I ended up falling asleep again. I woke up, again with no one next to me. I left the bunk, and everyone was off the bus…except Garrett. He was sitting down on a couch in back playing an acoustic guitar. I went in there and I sat down beside him. He looked over at me and smiled.

"Morning…or, afternoon, actually," he said, still strumming. He was playing something by Ryan Adams, it sounded like.

"Good afternoon…where is everyone?" I asked him, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"They're all inside. We're at the venue," he replied.

"Well, why are you in here?"

"I just wanted some quiet. And I didn't want to just leave you here by yourself. You could get raped or something."

A smile formed across my face. "Well, thanks."

He put his guitar down and looked over at me. "Anytime…you know, you look..beautiful right now."

I shot him a look. "Garrett, I am in a ratty tank top, old shorts, and my hair is in a tangled bun."

"Those are three of my favorite things," he replied, shaking his hair with his hand. I'm sure I blushed.

"Do you mind if I play a song?" I asked, pointing to his guitar. He gave me a funny look.

"You can play?"

"Yeah..but I'm not any good…so I never play around anyone. Only Peyton knows about it," I said, grabbing the guitar from him. I set it on my lap and began to strum the notes to Suddenly You by Brighten, and Garrett started to sing along.

After the song was over, I put the guitar down and looked over at Garrett, who was smiling at me. "What is it?" I asked him.

"Nothing…you played that flawlessly," he replied.

"Do you really think so?" I was blushing again.

"Yeah! That was better than the original song."

"I should play for the guys then, I'm sure Pat … will …" I stopped because when I said Pat, the look on Garrett's face changed from happy, to somewhat concerned. "What? What is it?"

"Julia, can I tell you something?"

"Sure, Garret. Anything."

"Okay, but I didn't tell you…okay?"

"Uh…okay."

"Pat's….well…..he's talking to an ex of his." My stomach started feeling funny.

"Well…I mean, ex's can be friends…right?"

"Julia, they're talking. They're planning to meet up and hook up."

My heart sank. I buried my head in my hands and started to cry. Garrett scooted closer to me and pulled me into his arms. He started to rub my back. "I'm sorry, Julia, but I just couldn't let him get away with this. You don't deserve that."

I pulled away from his grip and looked up at him, still in tears. "Why would he do this to me, Garrett? Why?" I re-entered his arms and started bawling more into his chest. He started rubbing my back.

"Julia, you need someone who won't do this to you…" he paused. He put his hand under my chin and lifted my head up, so I was looking at him. "Someone…like me." He pulled my head closer to his and kissed me. I was so mad at Pat that I didn't even care anymore. I put my hands behind his neck and pulled him in even closer. He put his hands under my shirt and started rubbing my back. I deepened the kiss, and started to lie down, pulling him on top of me. I pulled off his shirt and started rubbing his sides. He had such a nice body… He lifted my shirt off over my head and continued to kiss me deeply. He slowly unhooked my bra and put it on the ground.  
He pulled away from the kiss. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

I unbuttoned his pants and he slid them off of his legs. "I guess that's a yes." He took of my shorts and tossed them to the side. He slowly kissed me on my neck and kept kissing down my body until he got to the top of my undies. He slowly removed those, and then his own. He brought his head back up to mine.

"Julia…there's something I need to tell you…"

"What is it, Garrett?" I asked. I didn't want to stop now…

"You need to wake up.."

"What?"

"You need to…"

"Wake up, Julia, please?" I heard Pat's voice say. I slowly opened my eyes to see Pat's face inches from mine. I can't believe I just had a dream about Garrett. Garrett, out of all people.

"I'm up, I'm up…what is it?" I asked him, rubbing my eyes.

"We might be stopping soon…I figured you'd want to brush your teeth and change before we got there," he replied, tucking in some loose hair behind my ear.

"Yeah…thank you." I kissed him and got out of the bunk. I needed something to drink. Now. I walked into the kitchen area of the bus to see Peyton and John in the front of the bus embraced in a _very _friendly hug.

"Get a bunk," I yawned. "Where are we?"

"Louisiana," Peyton replied. John passed by me on the way to the back of the bus, and as he did so, ne nodded at me and smiled. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet. When John was out of hearing range of me, I looked over at Peyton.

"What was that about?" I asked her. "What's with the creepy, scary smile on your face? You look like a pedo."

"Remember when I used to bore you with all of my Camp Cosby stories?" she asked me. Oh, do I.

"Oh yes. All you talked about was you and that Carrot, Corn, Collard Greens kid, whatever his name was. It was some vegetable." I poured me a glass of water, chugged it, and put the glass in the sink.

"Corny." she smiled.

"Right, that one. What about it?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

"I found Corny."

"Uh…" I think she was drugged last night.

"What's John's middle name?"

"Cornelius… Holy shit. It's a small world after all," I said with a chuckle. I rested my head on her shoulder.

"Anyways, how was your night. In a cramped bunk. With Patrick Kirch?" she asked me. "Hot and steamy, I hope." Not at steamy as those dreams I had… I decided to change the subject. I took my head off of her shoulder.

"Well, how was your night in a cramped bunk with whoever you slept with? I got up to pee and you weren't on the couch. Kennedy or John?"

"Garrett." Oh...

"Garrett? You're making this a love square? The triangle wasn't complicated enough!"

"Ha-ha. Very funny. You are forgetting that it already is a love square. Halvo." She rolled her eyes.

"Well shit. A love pentagon? Oh screw it, I hate geometry," I said with a sigh.

"My dad said hey and that he misses you," she told me. I smiled.

"I need to call my mom…I guess," I mumbled. I have only talked to my mom once or twice since I moved to Arizona.

"Nah, I wouldn't." Peyton said. She was right. It's not like she gave a shit where I was, anyways. I let out a small chuckle and went back to Pat's bunk. He was still in there. He scooted over and I joined him.

"You feeling okay?" he asked me. He was watching something on his laptop.

"Yeah. I was just thirsty," I replied, scooting over closer to him. "What're you watching?"

"Full House." I got closer to him and we both watched, sharing occasional laughs now and then. The DVD got to the credits, and he turned and looked at me. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I replied. He closed his laptop and put it to the side.

"How do you feel about me?"

"You're amazing Pat. Why?"

"I…." he trailed off.

"You what? What's going on?"

"I -" He was interrupted when we both heard Peyton yell from the front of the bus.

"I HAVE TO SHIT, JUST PULL OVER THE FUCKING BUS!" I poked my head out of the bunk to see what was going on, but all I could see was Peyton staring at Kennedy. I ignored it and put my head back in the bunk.

"What were you going to say?" I asked, looking at him. He shrugged.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." We then felt the bus come to a sudden stop. I guess it was for Peyton.

"I need to pee," Pat said. I got out of the bunk so he could go to the bathroom. I looked towards the back of the bus to see Garrett playing an acoustic guitar. He was very focused on what he was playing. He was playing …. This House Is Not for Sale by Ryan Adams… and that is what he was playing in my dream. I just stood there, watching him play. I don't know why I couldn't look away. He looked up at me, while still playing. I smiled at him, and he flashed a grin back. He looked back down at his fingers while he played. I really couldn't look away. Just then, I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder. I looked over and it was Pat.

"You okay?" he asked me.

"Yeah. I was just watching Garrett play guitar," I replied. Pat climbed back into the bunk. I got one last glance at Garrett and then followed behind him. A few seconds after we got settled we felt the bus move again. Peyton and Phil were talking, and we heard Garrett scream something to her.

"If you needed to blow something, you could have just come back here!"

I looked over Pat. "Can I see one of your shoes?" He nodded and handed me one. I put half my body out of the bunk and threw it at Garrett. He shot me a death glare while mumbling some curse words. I looked over at Peyton, who was laughing, and winked at her. Then I got back into the bunk.

"Did you just throw my shoe at him?" Pat asked me. I smiled at him and he sighed at me. "You're impossible."

"I know, I know."

A few minutes later, the bus came to a halt, which meant we were at the venue. I went and retrieved Pat's shoe from the back of the bus and gave it back to him. I let everyone get out of their bunks and go to the front. I motioned for Pat to go in front of me. I was the last one in the line. We were passing Peyton when she pulled me down beside her by my arm. Everyone else got off the bus.

"Jeez, what?" I asked.

"I think I broke my foot," she replied.

"You think you broke your foot?" I asked, slowly. How can you think you broke your foot? She gently pulled off her shoe and sock to reveal a black and blue swollen foot.

"Holy shit," I said, looking away. "That's disgusting." Just then John walked back onto the bus.

"I forgot my… What did you do Peyton?" he asked, looking down at her foot.

"Nothing, I just think I broke my foot. I was going to get Julie to take me to the hospital."

"I can't. Someone has to stay and set up merch. We are behind schedule as it is," I said. I didn't mean to sound like a bitch, but one of us had to do what we came on tour for.

"Well, I can drive myself."

"No, you can't. Besides, what are you going to drive?" he asked.

"I'll live, just help me go inside."

John and I got on each side of Peyton and helped her wobble off the bus and into the lot we were parked in.

"I just need to go in and sit down or something," she sighed.

"Hey John," John Ohh called out as John Gomez was passing by.

"Yeah?" John said, directing his attention to John, then to Peyton, and then her foot.

"Can we borrow your van? I need to take Peyton to the hospital."

"You don't need to take her to the hospital, you need to sound check. You guys are always the last ones anywhere. Go, I will take her." He replied, replacing John's body with his own on the other side of Peyton. I made sure John Gomez had her and then I walked off, heading towards the venue. John Ohh followed behind me.

"Julia, wait a second," he said, running to catch up with me. He opened the door to the venue, which was The House of Blues, for me.

"Thanks, John," I said, smiling and walking in.

"No problem."

The merch tables were to be set up in the same room as the stage, except in the way back. John helped me set up and make everything pretty. We were finished within a few minutes.

"Thank you for your help," I said to John.

"No problem. You going to be fine with no one around to help?" he asked me.

"I think…can you send someone back this way with a guitar?"

"Uh..I guess so," he replied, walking off.

I sat down in a chair, waited a few minutes, singing Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC to myself and tapping my foot along with the beat, when finally Garrett showed up, guitar in hand. Of course he sent Garrett.

"Here's a gee-tar," he said, sitting down in a chair next to me. I took the guitar and placed it on my lap. He looked over at me, like I was stupid or something. "You're going to play something?"

"Nope. I like to pretend guitars are actually pets. I set them in my lap, talk to them, pet them….yes, I'm going to play something," I replied. I placed my fingers in the starting spots of the song I was going to play, and then started to strum. Garrett quickly picked up what song I was playing and started to sing along.

"I'm thinking finally, I've found a love that's true.  
I'm suddenly smart, suddenly kind, I'm suddenly you

I'm thinking finally, I'll need a love that's new  
suddenly coy, suddenly yours, suddenly new, suddenly you."

Garrett sang everything, as I finished the song. When I finished, I set the guitar down beside me. I looked over at Garrett, who was smiling at me. …This was happening all over again.

"What is it?" I asked him. Don't say it…

"Nothing…you played that flawlessly," he replied. I looked at him with a blank look on my face, and he did the same.

"Déjà vu…" he whispered. He took the blank look off his face and looked at me with seriousness in his face. "Have you felt like this has happened before? Like maybe…"

"In a dream," I finished. His eyes widened at me.

"You had this dream, too?"

"Yeah..last night," I answered.

"I had a dream like this last night too, except you and I were in…"

"The back of the bus," I interrupted.

"Wow..yeah…in your dream…did we happen…to…" he paused. He looked at me with wide eyes again.

"Yeah, we did…this is insane…" I murmured to myself. Just then, Jonathan Cook walked up and stood beside me.

"What's up guys?" he asked. I looked at Garrett, who was standing up.

"I better go backstage…we're doing sound check soon. See you guys later," he said to us, walking off. J-Cook took his spot.

"That was weird…he left his guitar here," he said, picking it up.

"Actually, I was playing it," I stated.

"Really? Let me see you play something." He handed me the guitar.

"Uh…well…like what?" I asked.

"Play…anything, I don't know."

I started playing Whoever She Is by The Maine. I didn't sing it, though. I played through the whole song, and I heard claps coming from where the stage was. I looked up and all the guys were standing there, just watching me. I guess they heard me play.

"Nicely done," Jonathan said to me. "I'll catch up with you later, okay?" He stood up and walked off. I set the guitar down and watched The Maine do their sound check. They sounded amazing. They got done, and they all went back stage. Doors were going to open soon, and Peyton wasn't back yet. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, though…

"I LIKE BIG BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE, YOU OTHER BROTHERS CAN'T DENY!" I heard Peyton and John Gomez singing as he walked over with Peyton on his back.

"What is wrong with her?" I asked, poking her.

"Hey!" she whined, and hopped off of John's back. Bad move.

"FUCK, BUGGER, WANKER, SHIT, COCK, ASS, TITS, BALLS" she screamed. She received a few looks.

"Wow, do you eat with that mouth?" John asked her, pulling up the empty chair beside me behind her. "She is on some strong pain medication," he answered.

"Oh, great. I guess I will be manning this by myself AGAIN tonight?" I asked, looking at Peyton.

"But Julie! I will be here. I will just be OBSERVING," she whisper-yelled.

"I can't babysit AND sell merch. Not if I am going to do it alone." I let out a sigh.

"I just need someone to watch her while we are onstage, and then I can resume my babysitting duties afterwards," Baby Gomez said, giving me the puppy-dog look.

Peyton said something, but John and I weren't paying attention.

"Well, I can go see if I can find John," he said, motioning for Peyton to hop on his back again.

"YES! " she shouted, hopping on. "SLOW RIDE! Duh nuh, nuh nuh nuh, nuh nuh nuh. TAKE IT EASYYYYY!" They walked off, and it was time for the doors to open. Great.  
A swarm of girls and a few boys swarmed in, most of them heading to the stage. A few of them came to the merch area, though.

"You're Pat's girlfriend, aren't you?" one girl asked me.

"Yup. Can I get you something?" I didn't want to discuss my life; I just wanted to sell shit.

"Is he a good boyfriend?" one of her friend's asked.

"Yup. Can I get you something?" They looked at each other and giggled.

"Is he….a good kisser?" one of them asked as they were still giggling.

"Look, I don't want to discuss mine and Pat's personal life. I'm here to sell you things, so please, either purchase something, or go away," I said to them. I don't think I've ever been that rude to a stranger in my life, but they were irritating me. They sighed and rolled their eyes at me and walked off. I shrugged it off as the next person in line came up.

I got everyone what they wanted and The Summer Set was about to play. Everyone, including me, was focusing their attention to the stage. Being so focused, I jumped in my seat when I heard Garrett sit down in the chair beside me. Kyle Burns was standing next to him.

"What's up, guys?" I asked them.

"Would you mind coming with me for a moment, Julia?" Garrett asked me.

"I can't. I have to watch-"

"I'll watch it," Kyle chimed in.

"You might get swarmed by females. Are you sure you're up to it?" I asked him.

"I'm used to it," he replied with a smile. I stood up, he took my seat, and I followed Garrett out the back door and out of the venue. He had two chairs set out beside the door, and a guitar was in one of them.

"What's going on?" I asked him, taking the seat without the guitar in it. He picked up the guitar and sat down next to me.

"I just wanted to play something for you, since you played something for me earlier." He began to strum and sing.

"_Half of what I say is meaningless  
But I say it just to reach you, Julia_

Julia, Julia, ocean child, calls me  
So I sing a song of love, Julia  
Julia, seashell eyes, windy smile, calls me  
So I sing a song of love, Julia

Her hair of floating sky is shimmering, glimmering  
In the sun

Julia, Julia, morning moon, touch me  
So I sing a song of love, Julia

When I cannot sing my heart  
I can only speak my mind, Julia

Julia, sleeping sand, silent cloud, touch me  
So I sing a song of love, Julia  
Hum hum hum hum... calls me  
So I sing a song of love for Julia."

I was speechless. Julia…by The Beatles? He just played that for me. He set his guitar down and looked over at me.

"Are..you okay? You look like you just saw a zombie…or something," he said, looking behind him cautiously…looking for zombies? I coughed and he brought his attention back to me.

"I'm fine, that was just…beautiful." I smiled at him and he smiled back. Just then, Pat came through the back door. He sat down on my lap and put his arms around my neck.

"What's going on back here?" he asked.

"We were just discussing zombies," I replied. Garrett looked at me and shrugged.

"I guess I should go back in, huh?" he mumbled, standing up. "I'll see you guys inside." He walked back in and Pat took his seat.

"You should go inside, too. I shot a glance at the merch table before I came out here and I think Kyle is getting raped," Pat said. He leaned over and kissed me, then got comfortable in his chair again. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

"Uh…alright," I murmured, standing up and walking inside. I felt like he was rushing me off. I didn't want to be rushed off. I turned back around and went back outside. I then saw why he rushed me off. I suddenly felt very nauseated and all that would come out of my mouth was, "Pat…who's she?"


	18. Love Is Hell

"Who's that chick?" the girl sitting next to Pat said in my direction. She was skinny, long haired blonde, and she didn't look like she was that tall. Pat looked at her, then at me, then at her again, and then at me. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but didn't. So I did.

"I'm Pat's girlfriend. GIRLFRIEND. Who are you?" I wasn't a violent person, but I felt like popping a bitch in the face.

"Girlfriend?" She looked over at Pat. "You can do better." She stood up and walked away.

"Thank god," Pat mumbled. He looked up at me and smiled. I wasn't amused. His smile quickly turned into a frown. "What is it?"

"What is it? You just rushed me off to go inside so you could be with her. What kind of shit is that?" I yelled at him. I just wanted to punch something.

"I was about to get up to follow right behind you, and she just ran up, sat down, and told me not to go anywhere. I figured she just wanted a picture or something," he said, calmly. I leaned against the wall and sighed.

"So you don't have any idea who she is?" I asked.

"No, I don't."

"You've never seen her or met her before?"

"Julia," he started. He got up, walked over to me, and put his hands on my waist. "No one can compare to you. Believe me when I say that." He leaned in and kissed me. "Come on, let's go inside. Both of us."

He opened the door and motioned for me to go inside. I walked in and he followed right behind me. He took my hand in his and we walked back to the merch table, where The Summer Set had just gone done playing, and there was a swarm of girls crowed over. Pat let go of my hand and said to me, "I'm going to go ahead and go back stage since we're up next, and before I get bombarded." He kissed my forehead and quickly ran off.

I went over to the table to see Kyle, and he looked irritated. I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "You can go buddy, I'll handle it. Sorry about the wait."

"Thank you," he replied, standing up. All the girls in line followed him. Well then.

After a few minutes, The Maine's shit was assembled on stage, they got on stage, and began to play their set. After a few songs, John began to talk.

"I would like to bring out a very special person to help me with this next song. Her name is Peyton. Peyton is one of my best friends. She's actually the reason I have a black eye," he lied. I looked over at Kennedy, who look annoyed. John started talking again. "So let's all gave her one big WOOHOO." Everyone in the crowd yelled WOOHOO'd. John was like God to these kids. I chuckled. John motioned for Peyton to come out, and she did. Very slowly. Like a turtle. But she was on crutches, so I guess that's understandable. She put her crutches on Garrett's amp and waddled to the microphone. _Oh god, I hope she's not going to speak_ I thought to myself.

"Hi guys!" she eagerly said into the mic.

"Hi!" the crowd shouted back.

"What are we singing, John?" she asked.

"Look at the set list, Peyton," Garrett chimed in. I let out a huge laugh. She looked a little nervous, but I guess I would have been too. I wish I could get that kind of attention like her, though… Just then, the beginning riff of I Must Be Dreaming began to play.

"She thinks I'm crazy, judging by the faces that she's making…"As John sang, I air guitar'd along. Then Peyton chimed in. As they were staring longingly at each other while singing, I looked over at Pat, who was really focused on his drumming. I then looked over at Garrett, who was staring at me. He wouldn't look away.

"Tell me that you love me, and it'll be alright…" she sang the chorus each time, and her and John sang it together at the end, and it was beautiful. When the song was over, Garrett looked away at me, and Peyton began to exit the stage, but stopped to high five Kenny. While she was stopped, she grabbed a mic.

"Everyone needs to go buy a shirt from Julia," Peyton said. What the fuck was she doing?

"Oh yeah, everyone needs to go talk to Julia," John chimed in. I hate them.

"She's mega hot," Garrett added. …What? Seriously? Pat threw a drum stick at the back of Garrett's head. Garrett just chuckled, but the look on Pat's face was serious. Jesus, I didn't want more band drama.

"Everyone tell her a story," Kennedy said. I was looking at all of them. I was going to seriously slit all of their throats.

"If you say the word 'esophagus', you get 10% off. She loves that word," John fucking said. I cringed at the sound of that word. It was just gross to me.

"DO NOT SAY THAT WORD!" Pat yelled behind them. I'm glad he was looking out for me.

"Oh why not? Julia, you love that word, right?" Garrett asked me, and of fucking course, the whole crowd turned at me. I was kind of choked up, so I just flipped them all off. It was time I got into this conversation.

"Guys, really, don't say that word. She will make you pay 10% more," Pat said as I was standing up. I started walking towards the stage, and luckily the security guards there helped me up. When I got up there, I took Garrett's microphone.

"Hi guys. I want to get a little chant going on right now. This is Peyton's favorite word. Are you ready?" John started laughing hysterically. This one word can make Peyton pee herself because she laughs every time she hears it.

"Diarrhea, diarrhea," I began. The crowd started chanting along with me, as did the boys on stage…except Pat. Peyton was dying of laughter. She eventually was doubled over and she lost her balance and fell over, but continued to laugh.

"Whoa, stop guys!" Pat yelled, running around his drum set to help her up. She grabbed her crutches off of the floor and made her way off stage. She flipped me off and exited the stage. I put Garrett's mic back on its stand. I didn't know if I was supposed to get off stage, or stand there, or what.

"So how're you, Julia?" John Ohh said into his mic.

"I'm … uh … okay?' I replied.

"Into the mic so everyone can hear you, please," Kennedy said. I sighed and I took Garrett's mic, who was talking to Jared about something I couldn't hear.

"I said I'm okay," I said again, looking at John.

"That's good. You like being a merch girl?"

"What kind of question is that?" I asked. He laughed and shooed me off with his hand. I put Garrett's mic back on the stand and started to walk off the stage. I took two steps when I heard Pat yell something, but I couldn't understand what. I turned to face him when suddenly I felt my trousers being pulled off of me. I looked behind me to see Jared running away from me. Everyone in the crowd, and on stage, began laughing but then gasped. I looked down to pull my pants back up and I noticed something: I decided not to wear undies today. Everyone in the crowd just saw my bare, white ass, and everyone in The Maine just saw my jank…never would I have thought I could say that. I could feel the tears coming…and they did. I quickly retrieved my pants and ran off back stage, past Peyton, John Gomez, and Jonathan Cook, who was yelling at me to stop. I didn't. I ran to the tour bus, went to the back, balled up, and started crying. I usually didn't mind pranks, but that was just bad. I then heard someone come on the bus.

"If you're Jared, then fuck off!" I yelled.

"I'm not Jared," Jonathan said. I looked up at him with tears still rolling down my face as he sat beside me. We both didn't say anything for a few seconds. Then I finally broke the silence.

"A bunch of kids just saw my ass, and the guys saw my vagina..." I trailed off. I'm sure he saw. He didn't say anything back; he just wrapped his arms around me. I buried my head into his chest and began to cry harder.

After a few minutes, I eventually stopped crying, and he left because he needed to be on stage. I was still sitting in the same spot, but I was playing someone's acoustic guitar. I was just strumming, not playing anything specific, when I heard someone open the door to the bus. I looked up to see Stephen Gomez standing there. I stopped strumming.

"What's up, hate life?" I asked him. He looked at me with a death glare and walked off the bus. I chuckled to myself and started playing again. About 50 minutes passed before I had contact with anyone again. Someone entered the bus, and it was Pat. He sat down beside me. I put the guitar down and looked at him. I'm sure he was going to say something heartfelt and amazing that would cheer me up instantly.

"You went commando today and didn't tell me?" he asked. I sighed and buried my face into the palms of my hands.

"Why did he have to do that in front of everyone?"

"I tried warning you. I guess you didn't hear me," Pat said quietly. He started to rub my back with his hand. "Jared feels really shitty. So does Garrett, they both planned it." Damnit…Garrett….

"Well, they should…but I can't hate them. They're my boys. You're all my boys." I smiled at him and he kissed me lightly. "Come on… we're all having a good time outside in the lot. Hang with us, get your mind off of everything." I got up and followed him outside, where all three bands were hanging around, drinking, and playing cornhole…well, everyone but Peyton and Baby Go, but I wasn't going to worry about that.

"I'm really sorry, Julia," I heard Jared said behind me. I turned around to face him.

"No worries," I said, pulling him in for a hug. He smiled and walked off. I looked around to see where everyone was, and I saw Garrett sitting by himself away from everyone else. I walked over towards him. He looked surprised to see me in front of him.

"Julia, I'm-"

"No need to explain yourself," I said, cutting him off. "Think of it as a treat."

"A treat?" he asked.

"Well, hey, you think I'm mega hot, right? Well, congrats, you just saw vag," I joked. He smiled and then laughed.

"Thanks, I guess?" he said.

"Hope you have a photographic memory, because you'll never see it again," I stated as I walked away from him to Jonathan. I came up behind him and poked him on the shoulder with a smile, expecting he would turn around and smile back. He turned around and looked at me like I smelt bad or something.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"You didn't watch us tonight," he replied.

"I was in the bus, you know that," I said.

"You promised."

"Jonathan, you know that I was super upset! I didn't want to be around the crowd."

"A promise is a promise, Julia. I didn't know you were a liar."

"Oh hell no. I can't do this shit," I mumbled as I walked away from him. I can't believe he even brought that up. I walked back on to The Maine's bus and sat in the same spot I was in before, except this time I wasn't bawling my eyes out. I decided to have a party of my own. I sighed and stood up, walked over to my suitcase, grabbed a tank and my Pokemon PJ pants, and changed into them. I pulled my hair back into a messy bun. I went to the fridge, made myself a glass of Vodka and Sunny D , grabbed Pat's laptop, and made my way back to the back of the bus. I opened his laptop and began watching Full House. Something popped up in the corner saying the WiFi was connected, but I just ex'd out of it. I was having a marvelous time, sipping on my drink, watching John Stamos be a babe, when something popped up in the corner of the screen, again, but this time it was an email notification. I as exiting out of it, but the cursor went a little too far down and accidently opened it. I shouldn't read it. I should mind my own business.

"From…Lauren. Who is that?" I said to myself as I read. I looked further down and read out loud. "It was nice talking to you again." I didn't know who this girl was, and I didn't want to. I shrugged it off and continued to watch Full House.

About ten minutes past, and I was still the only one of the bus, still watching Full House, still sipping on my Vodka and Sunny D. Just then, I heard the door open. I looked up to see Garrett walking in. He flashed a small smile at me, and I smiled back.

"Done partying?" I asked him.

"It never was one for me. What're you doing in here?" he said as he retrieved some PJ pants from his suitcase.

"J-Cook pissed me off; ruined my night. So I'm in here watching Full House episodes while drinking vodka and Sunny D…what is my life?" I replied. He laughed as he walked into the bus's bathroom. I got up, went back to the fridge, poured myself some more vodka and Sunny D into my glass, and sat back down in the same spot. Garrett then came out of the bathroom in some plaid PJ pants. Nothing else. He was shirtless. No shirt. Garrett had no shirt on. I was staring, and he saw me.

"Do I need to put a -" he started, but I cut him off.

"No, no, I'm sorry," I murmured, looking back down at the laptop. He came and sat down beside me and focused his attention to the laptop, too. We both sat there for awhile, just watching Full House. He then spoke.

"You know, you look…beautiful right now," he said. I looked at him funny.

"Garrett, I am in a ratty tank top, Pokemon PJ pants, and my hair is in a tangled bun."

"Those are three of my favorite things," he replied. We both looked at each other with wide eyes again. This was in our dream. I looked down at Pat's laptop to see that all the episodes on the DVD had played. I shut the laptop down and placed it beside me, then looked over at Garrett.

"Can we talk for a minute?" I asked him. It took a lot of will power for me to not look at his torso.

"Of course, Julia," he replied.

"What do you think it means?"

"What do I think what means?"

"The dream. Our dream." He looked down and sighed. I began talking again. "Or…we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to…"

"No, we can. I want to," he replied. He locked eyes with me again. "I shouldn't be having a dream like that about my band mate's girl."

"And I shouldn't have a dream like that about my boy's band mate. But we both had it, and the same night. Shouldn't that mean something?"

"It should, and I've been thinking about it all day. But nothing I thought of could be right, because you're…" he stopped.

"I'm with Pat," I finished. He nodded his head. I sighed and looked down to the ground. "Maybe it was just a really fucked up coincidence. I mean, if it meant something, the part about Pat talking to his ex would happen, right?"

"Yeah…just a fucked up coincidence…" Garrett repeated with a melancholy tone. "I'm tired, I think I'm going to go to sleep." He stood up, but then bent over and hugged me. Garrett's bare chest was in my face, and I was totally okay with that. I hugged him back and he pulled away. "Goodnight Julia."

"Goodnight, Garrett. Sweet dreams." He turned and started for his bunk. I then heard him mumble something.

"Yeah. We'll see." He got into his bunk and closed the curtain. This was ridiculous. I stood up, put my glass in the sink in the kitchen, got in Pat's bunk, put the laptop beside me, and rested my head on the pillow. I was asleep within a few minutes.

I woke up and Pat was next to me, curled up in a ball, asleep, slightly drooling on himself. I gently maneuvered over him and got out of the bunk to get some Sunny D, my favorite morning time beverage. I got a glass and made my way to the front lounge area of the bus, and joined John Ohh on the couch.

"Mornin'," I murmured to him.

"Good morning. Sleep okay?" he asked.

"Eh. I've had better nights. Did you sleep out here?"

"Yeah, I let Peyton have my bunk."

I smiled at him. "You're a sweetie."

"I just want her to have the best."

We were talking about random irrelevant things when we were joined by Jess, who came from the bunk area.

"Jess?" John and I asked at the same time.

"Uh…yeah, hey guys," she mumbled as she sat down on the opposite side of us. She brought her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs, and rested her head on her knees.

"Did you sleep on our bus last night?" John asked her. She looked really uneasy.

"Yeah…I mean…yeah…I…was drunk…Kenny…" she stopped and looked like she was about to cry. No way. She and Kennedy. Slept together. I looked over at John, who was looking at Jess with wide eyes. He then looked at me, and directed his attention behind me to someone else.

"Hey guys," Peyton cheerfully greeted as she wobbled in to the area we were in. She took a seat by Jess.

"I'm the one who changed your clothes last night, just so you know," Jess said to her with a sad smile on her face. I wonder if she'll tell Peyton or not…

"Thank you," Peyton smiled back at her. Just then, Jared entered the room, taking a seat next to Peyton.

"What's up, ladies?" he asked.

"Ladies?" John said, looking offended.

"Ladies," Jared replied, winking at John.

"I didn't get a change to congratulate your win last night JMCM," Peyton said, holding up her hand for a high-five. He flashed her a huge grin and returned the high-five.

"First victory of the tour goes to us! We are going to be untouchable!" John added, smiling.

"You guys are really into this game, aren't you?" I asked. I didn't get it.

"It's actually really fun." Jess joined in.

"Maybe I can actually play when I don't need those things," Peyton sighed, pointing to her crutches.

"I'll teach you how to play," John said.

"I bet you will," she smiled. Oh.

"You're blushing, Peyton. You're thinking pervy, aren't you?" I asked.

"Yup," she replied while staring at John.

"We're almost there. I'm gonna go finish getting ready." Jess sighed, standing up and walking towards the back.

"Why is she on the bus?" Peyton asked, in a low voice.

"She and -" John started.

"She and Pat were working on some drum beats." I interrupted, shooting John a look.

"Why would she spend the night, though? Was it that important?" she asked.

"Very important," I nodded.

"Okay, what am I missing? They didn't work on drumbeats. I would have heard…" she asked looking from John, to Julia, to Jared.

"I honestly have no idea," Jared said, standing up and walking to the back.

"Spill," she crossed my arms. "Did she sleep with Garrett or something? That boy needs to get laid."

"Not exactly..." I trailed off.

"Why can't we just tell her? It's not really that big of a deal," John said, drumming his fingers on his knees.

"Tell me what?" she yelled. "What do you mean 'not exactly.' How do you 'not exactly' sleep with someone?"

"Oh she slept with someone alright," John muttered under his breath. I punched him in the arm. Did he seriously say that?

"Ow, fuck!" he shouted, rubbing it.

"Spill, now." she said, pointing to John.

"Jess and -"

"LA LA LA LA LA LA LA," I started shouting. There was a time and place to tell her, and this wasn't it.

"JESS AND KENNEDY BONED!" John yelled even louder. I sighed and gave John a death glare. Peyton just stared at John like he just told her he just ate a puppy or something. The bus was very quiet after that, you could almost hear the sound of Phil breathing it was so quiet.

"Are you okay, Peyton?" I asked quietly, placing my hand on her knee. She nodded and shrugged. What a liar.

"Why wouldn't she be okay? It's not the end of the world." John added. I just glared at him again.

"John, you are my least favorite person in the world right now." I mumbled.

"I even beat Cameron?" he asked, sounding hurt. No. No he did not. I closed my eyes and slowly counted to 5. I needed to leave before I murdered him.

"Right now, yes," I replied, standing up and walking towards the back of the bus. I joined Garrett and Jared, who were playing Halo 3. I sat in the middle of them.

"Can I play?" I asked. They both busted out laughing.

"You? Play?" Jared said.

"Ha-ha, let her do it, man. You're behind ten points anyways," Garrett added. Jared chuckled and handed me the controller. The score at the moment was Jared – 3, Garrett – 13.

"Let's make this interesting," I said to Garrett.

"What, you mean like a bet?" he asked.

"Yeah, a bet."

"Dude, do it. There's no way she'll win," Jared said to him.

"Yeah, okay. So what, if you win what happens?" he asked.

"Okay. If I win…you have to wear a pair of my undies on stage tonight. And nothing else. Just my undies."

"And if I win…you have to…have sex with me." I looked over at him.

"Seriously, Garrett?"

"Seriously!"

"Deal. Now, let's see who will win," I mumbled, looking at the screen.

We both got really into our game, and I eventually caught up with him. The score was 24 – 24, next kill would win the game.

"Game over" came out of the TV, and I looked over at Garrett, who looked shocked over what just happened.

"She just beat you. How. How did you let that happen," Jared mumbled.

"I have…to wear panties on stage tonight," Garrett said, still staring at the screen.

"Yup, and I know just which ones…" I said as I stood up. I went to my suitcase, grabbed the pair I wanted, and returned to the backroom. I threw the undies at Garrett. He caught them and looked.

"…Bootylicious. You have underwear that says 'Bootylicious' on them?"

"Duh. And now, you will be showing them off on stage," I replied with a smile. I walked off and I rejoined Pat in his bunk, who was lying down, but fully awake now. I got in and lay beside him.

"Hello lovely," he said, kissing my forehead.

"Hi. Sleep okay?"

"I suppose. I kept having some odd dreams, but I don't really want to get into that. What's been up?"

"Well…Jess slept with Kennedy last night and is on the bus, John decided to yell it to Peyton, I just beat Garrett in a game of Halo so now he has to wear my undies on stage tonight," I said in one breath.

"Woah woah woah … you beat Garrett?" he asked. I sighed and scooted closer to him.

"Yes, I did."

"Wow, usually no one beats him. Anyways, isn't it someone's birthday in a few days?"

"Yup! Two days and I'll finally be legal," I replied with a smile.

"Aw, you'll be older than me!" Pat frowned.

"Older women have more experience though."

"Oh, is that so?" He pulled me in for a kiss, which seemed to last for an eternity. I finally pulled away when I felt the bus come to a stop. We exited the bunk and walked off the bus. I glanced over to the front entrance of the venue to see there were girls already lined up waiting to get in. Jared and Kennedy already passed me, heading straight for the line of girls since they already saw them get off the bus. Pat came up behind me, held my hand, and started to walk with me towards the entrance, which was up a set of stairs that were right beside the girls.

"Pat! Pat come over here!" one of the girls shouted. He looked over at me and shrugged.

"Go ahead, I'll go inside," I said to him. I kissed him on the nose and walked up the stairs and found where the stage was. The merch tables were to be set up in the back of that room, next to the bar. This was good, because now I could watch everyone play. Even Forever The … Sickest Kids. Great.

I just stood there, waiting for someone to come find me when finally Garrett walked through the doors.

"What're you doing in here by yourself?" he asked as he made his way towards me. I shrugged at him.

"I'm just guarding this spot for the merch table I guess. I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing. "

"How about I go get the merch stuff and help you set up?" He flashed an adorable smile at me, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"That'd be great." He left and gathered everything that needed to be set up. He helped me with the table and the tent, but we didn't unload the shirts yet. He pulled up two chairs and sat in one. I took the other.

"Isn't your birthday in two days?" he asked as he looked over in my direction.

"Sure is," I replied, nodding my head.

"Do you, like, want anything?"

"I want a double sided dildo," I said with no hesitation. He looked at me like I had just shot a kitten or something.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously."

He pulled on his shirt collar and wipe the hair out of his eyes. "Well, uh.. I guess.."

I let out a laugh. "I'm just kidding dude. I don't want anything."

He let out a sigh. "God, I thought you were serious. Pat would of killed me for getting you that." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "How…are you guys, by the way?"

"We're okay, I guess," I mumbled. Garrett sounded like he was very uncomfortable asking that question. "Are you excited to wear my undies tonight?"

"At least I can say I've been in your underwear before, haha," he chuckled. I blushed a little bit. I have no idea why.

"You know, Julia, " he uncrossed his arms and bent forward, putting his weight on his arms, which were resting on his legs, "besides Jared, I haven't had as good as a friendship as I have with you. I know we don't talk like you and Pat used to, but I feel like I can come to you with anything."

"Well, you can, Garrett. You know I'm always here for you," I smiled at him, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"I know…so that's why I want to talk to about something. Someone."

"What is it?"

"You see…well, I'll talk to you about it later, we really need to unpack the shirts." He got up and started opening the boxes. As we were taking some shirts out, I noticed Peyton and John walking up towards us. I also noticed Forever The Sickest Kids were going on stage about to perform. I glanced at Jonathan, who looked really miserable about something. Good. He looked over at me for a second, then looked away. Whatever.

"Hey, what do you need me to do to help?" Peyton asked me.

"You're going to help me today?" I joked.

"Fuck yes, I am." she replied, taking some shirts out of the box. Peyton was looking at Jonathan. She looked over at me and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked her in a low voice. I glanced at Garrett and then back at Jonathan and then concentrated on setting up merch.

"Not right now, but yes," I whispered back. John came up behind Peyton and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling his face into her neck. She smiled and placed her hands over his. I gave her a, "What the fuck?" face. She mouthed the word, "later" and I nodded. Forever The Sickest Kids started playing, but I didn't look over at them once. I just focused on setting up. They finished playing, and I finished setting up. I sat back down in my chair.

"Can we eat? I am starving." Peyton asked, looking at John.

"Let's go," he said, turning around. He grabbed her crutches and she hopped on his back and he started to walk.

"Hey Jules!" Peyton shouted before John walked out of the room.

"What?" I yelled back.

"Want to go get food?" she asked.

"Uh, I think Garrett and I are going to get something in a little bit, but thanks," I replied, looking at Garrett. He had a confused look on his face. Peyton and John left the room.

"We are?" he asked me.

"Well, you said you wanted to talk to me, right?"

He nodded his head and stood up. "Alright. Where to?"

I stood up after him. "How about Denny's?"

"Favorite movie?" Garrett ask me as we were waiting for our check. I was playing with the wrapper my straw was in on the table. The whole time we were at Denny's, we asked each other questions about the other person.

"The School of Rock. Duh," I replied. "Favorite candy?"

"Watermelon Sour Patch Kids."

"Ew," I mumbled, making a face like I just ate something nasty.

"What? You not a fan?" he asked me.

"I hate everything watermelon."

"Well, I hate you." He looked at me with seriousness on his face.

"…What?" I said, voice trembling. I looked down at the wrapper that I was still playing with.

"I'm just kidding!" he replied, grabbing my hands. I looked up at him, and he was looking at me, too. He looked down at our hands, then removed them quickly and set them in his lap. I did the same. Just then, the waitress came over and placed our check on the table.

"Thank you, ma'am," Garrett said to her. She flashed a smile at him.

"No problem, sweetie." She walked off and I looked over at him.

"Well, uh, Garrett," I started, "what did you need to tell me?

"Well, do you remember … uh … in the dream … when I told you about … Pat?" he asked, stuttering a lot.

"I thought we were done talking about the dream," I said to him.

"Well, we are, er, were, but you need to know this."

"Okay, shoot."

"Pat's-" he stopped to look down at his pocket.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Hang on, I'm getting a call," he replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket and answering it. "Hello?"

I look at him, hoping he'd say who it was.

"Oh, hey Pat. … Yeah, she's here. … We wanted some food. … Yes, I know. … Okay, man. See you soon."

"What did he want?" I asked him.

"Sound check is about to happen and I'm not there," he replied as he stood up, grabbing the check. "Let's pay and get back."

When we arrived back to the venue, I took my spot back at the merch table while Garrett went backstage. I hadn't seen Pat since we first got the venue, but I guess that was okay. The Maine boys went up on stage to do their sound check a few minutes after I sat down. My eyes switched between Garrett and Pat, who both were staring at me the whole time.

"Hey Julia?" a voice from behind me said. I jumped when they spoke. I turned my body around to see who it was.

"…Oh. Hi Jonathan," I mumbled. He sat down beside me.

"Julia, I want to apologize," he said to me.

"Well, I'm listening."

"I was drunk when you talked to me. I didn't mean anything I said to you. I knew that you wouldn't watch us because of what happened, but …. Fuck, I feel like I really messed up. Will you just forgive me?"

I smiled at him and pulled him in for a hug. "Yes, I do. Just don't pull this shit again."

Jonathan sat with me for what seemed like forever. Even when the doors opened and the kids came up to the table, he sat with me. After everyone had bought the merch they wanted, gotten pictures with Jonathan, and gotten their places in the crowd, two girls walked up side by side to the table. One looked like she was about 16 or 17, had brown hair, and was short. The other one was a little taller than her, had long blonde hair, and looked like she was at least 19…she was also giving me the stink eye.

"How can I help you ladies?" Jonathan greeted. Thanks for doing my job.

The brunette looked over at me and started talking. "Uh…Peyton…here." She handed me a piece of paper. I read it out loud.

"AdmitTwo: Backstage Pass. Yes, seriously, Julia. Don't question me! Love, Peyton." I looked back up at them. The brunette was smiling, and the blonde one was still looking at me like I had just shot her grandmother or something. "Well, alrighty. Hey Felix!" One of the security guards standing next to the bar walked over to where we were.

"These girls bothering you Julia?" he asked, looking them up and down. The blonde one wasn't fazed, but the brunette looked like she was about to shit herself.

"No, no, they're fine. I need you to escort them backstage for me. Okay?"

"I don't want to fucking go backstage," the blonde one said, looking at me. What the hell was her problem?

"Why not? You don't want to meet the bands or watch the show from the side of the stage?" Jonathan asked her. He could tell I was getting a little infuriated with her.

"I just want to see Pat, he's the only reason I'm here," she replied, still looking at me.

"Oh, you mean MY boyfriend? He's great, isn't he?" I put emphasis on 'my' while talking to her. Her stink eye towards me became even worse. She didn't answer me, she just walked off.

"Jonathan, watch the table. I'm seeing what the fuck her problem is," I said to him as I followed behind her. She stopped walking when we got outside of the venue, so I finally caught up with her.

"What's your deal with me?" I asked her as she turned around to face me.

"I don't like you. Please don't bother me," she yelled at me. A few people that were outside the venue were staring at us.

"Why do you not like me? I've never met you before in my…." I looked at her face real hard, and then I realized something.

_"I'm Pat's girlfriend. GIRLFRIEND. Who are you?"  
"Girlfriend? You can do better."_

She was the girl from yesterday. The girl that was with Pat. It was her.

"Yeah, it's me. Now please, leave me alone," she said, about to walk off. I grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her. She looked at me like I was crazy. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"What is your obsession with Pat? You know I'm dating him," I said to her, letting go of her wrist.

"I love him!" she screamed at me.

"A lot of people do, you're no different!"

"He's my ex-boyfriend!"

"Yeah right. I doubt you even know him personally. Just stay away from MY boyfriend. I'm out of here." I turned on my heels to walk away but this time she grabbed my wrist and stopped me. I turned around to face her. "What?"

"I can.. prove it," she mumbled, taking out her phone. She messed around with it for a few seconds and pointed the screen towards my face. It was a text message. I checked the number beside the name, and sure enough, it was Pat's. The text read:

_I miss you too. I'm so glad you came to our past three shows. I really miss seeing your face every day. I'll meet you out back when the set is over, and I'll make sure Julia doesn't interrupt this time._

_Love, Pat._

She pulled her phone back and stuck it in her pocket. I just stood there, with a blank look on my face. When what I just read finally hit me, it felt like I got punched in the stomach by the world's strongest man. I looked at her and barley managed to ask, "Lauren?"

She nodded her head. I felt like crying, really bad, but I didn't want to do it in front of her. I looked into her eyes and quietly said, "He's yours now." I turned around and went back inside. I didn't need to leave Jonathan sitting at the table by himself.

When I returned to the table, Jonathan was still there, but Peyton was sitting beside him, and The Maine was playing. I chuckled at the sight of Garrett in my undies, but that small happy feeling disappeared when I glanced over at Pat, who was staring at me, smiling. How could he just sit there and smile at me when he knows he lied to me? … I sat down on the floor beside Peyton and rested my head on her leg and began to sob. She immediately got down on the floor next to me and pulled me into a comforting hug.

"What is it? What happened?" she asked me as she rubbed my back.

"Pat…ex….I'm done with him," I managed to reply.

"What sweetie? I can't understand you?" she said. I sat back a little and looked at her.

"Pat's ex! She's here!" I choked out.

"Okay, well, the boys have exes. We have to deal. That's not that big of a deal," she said to me.

"Ex is a very loose term right now," I sniffled. "He is getting back together with her, behind my back. He doesn't even have the balls to dump me. He thinks he can do whatever he wants. He can't do this to me. We are over."

"How do you know that?" she asked me.

"She showed me a text. I don't want to be here right now," I said, standing up, looking towards the door. The Maine had already finished their set, and the boys were going to meet fans. I didn't realize we had even talked that long.

"Jonathan, do you mind packing this up? I will make it up to you, I swear to god," Peyton asked Jonathan. I guess he nodded or something because no sound came from his mouth. Peyton grabbed my hand and we started making our way towards the bus. She tried going around everyone in the room so we wouldn't run into Pat, but lucky us, she ran right into him.

"Ow," he muttered, turning around. "Oh hey guys. Ju Ju what's wrong?" he asked reaching out to touch me. Hell fucking no, he was not going to touch me. I don't even want to know where those hands have fucking been. I stepped back from him.

"You will never ever touch me again. Hold onto any good memories of me that you can remember because this is the last time I am ever going to speak to you. Fuck off, we are done."


	19. Life Like This

My foot was in pain, but I was so amazingly happy, that it kept my mind off of it. John was helping me warm up my vocals, taking me through a few exercises before we took the stage.

"Are you sure you're okay to sing?" he asked, running his hands up and down my arms.

"Why? Do I sound like shit? Should I sit tonight out?"

"No, you sound great. I just don't want you to go out there in pain."

"It's okay. I can handle it. As soon as it's over I will take a pain pill." I smiled at him. He nodded and wrapped his arms around me.

"Baby-sitter reporting for duty," John Gomez said, poking his head in the door.

"It's okay, I got this one." John replied, hugging me closer. I looked over at Baby Gohhh and smiled, he just winked at me and mouthed an, "I told you." He closed the door behind him.

I watched side stage as The Maine played through their setlist. I didn't know what song I was singing tonight, but I knew that John would give me the signal. I thought maybe I would sing the same one we sang last night, but they had already played it.

"I would like to bring out a very special person to help me with this next song. Her name is Peyton. Peyton is one of my best friends. She's actually the reason that I have a black eye," he joked. I saw Kennedy roll his eyes on the other side of the stage. "So let's all give her one big WOOHOO." To my amazement, the crowd actually woohoo'd. If John would have told them to stab the person next to them, they would have. John motioned for me to come on stage, so I slowly hobbled my way up to the microphone, setting my crutches against Garrett's amp.

"Hi guys!" I said to the massive bunch of preteens.

"HI!" they shouted back.

"What are we singing John?" I asked into the microphone.

"Look at the set list Peyton," Garrett spoke up. The crowd laughed. Bitches. I looked down at the setlist. It was "I Must Be Dreaming." Oh great. I looked around the crowd and saw that everyone had their cameras ready to record. The nerves set in and I closed my eyes. I really needed to get used to crowds.

"She thinks I'm crazy, judging by the faces that she's making," John sang into the mic. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes, looking over at him. He stared back, singing the words perfectly. We got to the chorus and sang it together. I sang random parts in the song and John and I sang the end together. I stared at him the whole time. I really needed to get over my stage fright. He was the only place that I could look that brought me any amount of comfort. I finally looked into the crowd and smiled when I heard them all cheering. Kennedy gave me a high-five as I was walking to exit the stage. I had to stop my glacial pace just to perform that simple task. While I was stopped, I grabbed Kennedy's microphone.

"Everyone needs to go buy a shirt from Julia."

"Oh yeah, everyone needs to go talk to Julia." John joined in.

"She's mega hot," Garrett added. My eyes widened and I looked at Garrett. Did he really just say that? I looked back at Pat, who was fuming. He threw a drum stick at the back of Garrett's head. Garrett just laughed. I don't think that was supposed to be a joke. I am pretty sure Garrett was joking, although he did have a point, Julia was mega hot.

"Everyone, tell her a story," Kennedy added, looking to the back of the room at Julia. She looked pissed. I laughed, that was what I wanted.

"Tell her your life story," I added, winking at Julia.

"If you say the word ,"esophagus" you get 10% off. She loves that word." John added.

"DO NOT SAY THAT WORD!" Pat said from behind us.

"Oh why not? Julia, you love that word right?" Garrett asked, looking at her. The whole crowd turned around to see her response. She just flipped us all off.

"Guys, really, don't say that word. She will make you pay 10% more." Pat said. I loved how well he knew Julia. She really would. The next thing I knew, Julia was making her way towards the stage. She got the security guards to help her up and then took Garrett's microphone.

"Hi, guys. I want to get a little chant going on right now. This is Peyton's favorite word. Are you ready?" John started laughing hysterically, because he knew what was coming. The whole band knew my least favorite word in the world. All of the guys and Julia started chanting the word at the same time.

"Diarrhea! Diarrhea!"

The crowd started chanting. I felt like this was something that would happen at an All Time Low concert, not The Maine. I was laughing hysterically. That was the only word in the whole English language that could make me pee my pants. They needed to stop or I would. I was doubled over and eventually lost my balance. I fell over and continued to laugh.

"Woah, stop guys!" Pat said, running around his drum set to help me up. I grabbed my crutches off of the floor and started to make my way off of the stage. I flipped Julia off right before I was out of the crowds view. That fall really hurt my foot, and thank god John Gomez was standing there holding my pain meds and a bottle of water.

"Oh, I love you!" I said, grabbing the pills and water. I was swallowing them when John said the worst possible thing he could at the time.

"Diarrhea, huh?" he was giggling. The water shot out of my nose as I started to laugh again. John laughed even harder. I punched his arm and tried to stop laughing.

"So, how're you Julia?" I heard John Ohh ask her on stage.

"I'm… uh… okay?" she replied. I turned around and watched the onstage interaction.

"Into the mic so everyone can hear you, please," Kennedy said. I laughed. She stole Garrett's microphone, since he was busy talking to Jared.

"I said I'm okay," she replied, this time into the microphone.

"That's good. You like being a merch girl?"

"What kind of question is that?" she asked. He laughed and shooed her. She put Garrett's mic back on the stand and started walking off of the stage. I turned back to Baby Gohh, but his eyes widened as he saw what was about to go down onstage. I turned around just in time to see Jared pulling down Julia's pants. An old fashioned pantsing, lovely. I was not expecting, however, for Julia to be going commando. The crowd gasped at the sight of Julia's white ass. The band, however, got a totally different view. Poor Julie. She quickly grabbed her pants and ran off of the stage, passing us. I could see the tears rolling down her face already. I knew she wouldn't face the crowd right now, so I started to make my way to the merch stand. "Hey John," I called out behind me. "Can you help me?" He nodded and walked with me. We sat down at the table, but only a few people came over there. Maybe they were all too shocked or scarred by what had just happened.

"I told you," he said out of nowhere.

"Told me what?"

"You are precious cargo." He replied. I just smiled.

"I am precious cargo," I sighed, dreamily. I could feel those pain pills kicking in. They weren't making me as loopy as they did earlier. They just made me tired. So, I fell asleep.

I woke up and the venue was pretty much empty. All of the merch was packed up. Baby Gohhh was asleep in the chair next to me. Did they leave us here? I shook John awake. Or I tried to. Those assholes left us in here.

"John?" I said, still trying to shake him awake.

"Peanut butter," he mumbled.

"And jelly. Wake up!" He slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

"Where is everybody?" he blinked the sleep away.

"No idea. Let's go find them." I said, grabbing my crutches. We headed out front, but nobody was out there except a few hopeful fans, wanting to party with the bands."

"Out back," he said, "New Orleans, major partying always happens here. Bus call isn't until 5 am. We usually party all night."

"I just want to go to bed," I sighed under my breath. As soon as we walked out back, a very drunk Kennedy greeted us with open arms.

"Where have you been?" he slurred. How long were we asleep?

"Sleeping." John answered, looking at me. I nodded at him, letting him know that he could go party, I would be okay. He nodded and walked towards the game of cornhole that was going on. There was some sort of unspoken thing between John and I. It was like he would protect me no matter what. The same thing Kennedy and I had. I don't know if Kennedy and I still had that.

"You sounded amazing tonight," he stated, taking another sip of something that smelled like a homeless man.

"Jesus, Kenny, what are you drinking? That smells fucking awful."

"A little bit of everything."

"You are going to be so sick!" I stated, trying not to inhale the smell.

"I need it, though," he shrugged, taking another sip. I sighed.

"Why do you need it?"

"Why do you think, Peyton?" he asked, walking away. It seemed like that was all he did these days.

I looked over to the heated game of cornhole. It was game point, and John was concentrating intently on tossing his beanbags. I hopped over and stood next to Jobe, waiting to see the last throw of the game. If John got his beanbag on the board at all, he and Jared would win. He saw me and nodded for me to come over.

"Yes sir?" I asked, standing next to him. He handed me the beanbag.

"HEY, SHE CAN'T PLAY FOR YOU!" H8 Lyfe yelled from the other side of the cornhole field. John just rolled his eyes.

"I need you to rub any good luck you have on this beanbag," he smiled. He was serious about cornhole, and I didn't get it. It was just a game.

"I don't have good luck," I shrugged, trying to hand the beanbag back to him.

"Well, make it lucky!"

"How?"

"Rub it on your head."

"Seriously?" I asked, staring at the beanbag.

"Yes," he said, crossing his arms. So, I did.

"Now, hop three times," he said. So, I did that too. On one foot.

"Air guitar with your crutch," he said, trying to suppress a smile.

"JOHN!" I cried out. I looked like an idiot.

"Please, Lainey," he pleaded, giving me sad, puppy dog eyes. What is my life? Right now, it was John. So, I did that too. I looked like complete moron.

"Now, drop it on the ground." I dropped the beanbag on the ground, and stared at him.

"ANYONE HAVE A HAT?" he called out.

"Here, use Kennedy's sombrero," Jobe said, taking it off of his own head.

"PERFECT!" John yelled, placing it on my head. I wanted to kill him.

"Dance around the beanbag three times," he said, trying not to laugh.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I asked, glaring at him.

"Just kidding. All I need is a kiss for good luck. This was for shits and giggles," he smiled, and then stole a kiss. I smiled and gave him another one for good measure. I could get used to this. I hobbled back to where I was standing earlier. I took the stupid Mexican hat off of my head, and put it where it belonged; on a Mexican.

"Am I stylin'?" John Gomez asked Jess, pointing to the hat. She nodded and gave him the thumbs up.

John Ohhh picked the beanbag up off of the ground, dusting it off. A quiet fell over the crowd as he took his position. It seemed like it was all in slow motion. John tossed his bag and everyone watched it soar through the air, landing directly in the hole, for three points. Jared and John started jumping up and down as we all cheered for their victory.

"WHAT IS THIS FUCKERY?" Brian called out from the other side of the field. He and Stephen were kicking the grass, mad that they had lost. John ran over to me and picked me up, spinning me around. I didn't have time to drop my crutches, and I felt them come into contact with something, or rather, someone. John stopped spinning me and sat me down, and I looked to see who I hit. I would have felt bad if it had been anyone else, but I felt pleased that it was Jonathan Cook, laying on the ground in agony.

"I THINK YOU DISMEMBERED ME!" he yelled.

"Nah, she probably just lowered your chances of ever having kids," John said, helping him up. Jonathan was giving me a death glare the whole time.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Come on Jonathan, our bus call is in a few minutes. Don't forget we have that radio interview tomorrow." Kent said, heading to their bus. The rest of the guys followed. Jonathan just mumbled a few things under his breath and then started to follow them, limping the whole way to the bus. I couldn't help but smile a little.

"What is his deal? What did I ever do to him? You know, besides hitting him in the balls?" I asked John, leaning into him.

"You remind him of his ex-girlfriend," John said, kissing my forehead.

"Seriously? That's the only reason he hates me? That's so stupid! I haven't done anything!"

"I know. He's just going through a rough time right now. Give him time. He will come around."

"Or he won't." I shrugged, not really caring at the moment.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked me after finishing his drink.

"Pain pills and alcohol, not really the best combination, Corny." I replied, closing my eyes. I was tired as hell.

"Let's get you to bed," he said, picking me up. I rested my head on his shoulder and wrapped my good leg around his waist for extra support, while my other leg dangled.

"Hey Jared, can you grab her crutches?" he called out behind him. I was asleep before my head even touched the pillow.

When I woke up the next morning, I was in John's bunk. He wasn't with me though. I was, however, in my pajamas. Who the fuck changed my clothes? I kicked the "Finding Nemo" comforter off of me and drew the curtain back, instantly regretting it. The sunlight was shining straight into my eyes. I hated mornings.

I stood up and stretched, grabbing my crutches, which were laying on the floor. Then I hobbled my way to the front of the bus where John, Julia and Jess were. Jess? What was she doing on here?

"Hey guys," I greeted them, sitting down next to Jess, setting my crutches against the wall.

"I'm the one who changed your clothes last night, just so you know." Jess said, with a sad smile. What was up with her today?

"Thank you," I smiled back. Just then, Jared Monstercock Monaco walked into the front lounge.

"What's up, ladies?" he asked, taking a seat next to me.

"Ladies?" John asked, looking offended.

"Ladies," Jared replied, winking at John.

"I didn't get a chance to congratulate your win last night JMCM," I said, holding up my hand for a high-five. He flashed me a huge grin and returned the high-five.

"First victory of the tour goes to us! We are going to be untouchable!" John added, smiling.

"You guys are really into this game, aren't you?" Julia asked.

"It's actually really fun." Jess joined in.

"Maybe I can actually play when I don't need those things," I sighed, pointing to my crutches.

"I'll teach you how to play," John said, looking at me and winking.

"I bet you will," I smiled, thinking about all of the other things he could teach me…

"You're blushing, Peyton. You're thinking pervy, aren't you?" Julia asked.

"Yup," I replied, not even trying to deny it. I looked at John who was staring at me, a smile playing at his lips. Why did he have to be so gorgeous? How did I get so lucky? What am I talking about? John and I aren't an item. Not officially anyway. Did I want us to be an item? A few days ago I didn't. I wanted to focus on either getting over Halvo, or getting him back. John could_ definitely_ help me get over Halvo…

"We're almost there. I'm gonna go finish getting ready." Jess sighed, standing up and walking towards the back.

"Why is she on the bus?" I asked, in a low voice.

"She and -" John started.

"She and Pat were working on some drum beats." Julia interrupted, shooting John a look.

"Why would she spend the night, though? Was it that important?" I asked, confused.

"Very important," Julia nodded.

"Okay, what am I missing? They didn't work on drumbeats. I would have heard…" I asked looking from John, to Julia, to Jared.

"I honestly have no idea," Jared said, standing up and walking to the back.

"Spill," I crossed my arms. "Did she sleep with Garrett or something? That boy needs to get laid."

"Not exactly..." Julia trailed off.

"Why can't we just tell her? It's not really that big of a deal," John said, drumming his fingers on his knees.

"Tell me what?" I cried out, getting annoyed. "What do you mean 'not exactly.' How do you 'not exactly' sleep with someone?"

"Oh she slept with someone alright," John muttered under his breath. Julia punched him in the arm.

"Ow, fuck!" he shouted, rubbing it.

"Spill, now." I said, pointing to John.

"Jess and -"

"LA LA LA LA LA LA LA," Julia started shouting, trying to cover whatever John was trying to say.

"JESS AND KENNEDY BONED!" John yelled even louder. Julia sighed and gave John a death glare. I froze and just stared at John, like I didn't believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. They sounded like a foreign language that I hadn't grasped yet. The bus went very quiet, nobody said a word at all. Jess walked out of the bathroom with her head hung in shame. She walked straight to Kennedy's bunk, without even a glance our way. She heard John. Everyone heard John.

"Are you okay, Peyton?" Julia asked quietly, placing her hand on my knee. Was I okay? No, I wasn't. I didn't know why it bothered me so much, it just did. I just nodded and shrugged.

"Why wouldn't she be okay? It's not the end of the world." John added. Julia just glared at him again.

"John, you are my least favorite person in the world right now."

"I even beat Cameron?" he asked, sounding hurt. She closed her eyes, trying to find a happy place, I imagine, so that she didn't murder John.

"Right now, yes," she replied, standing up and walking towards the back of the bus.

"Way to bring that up, John." I sighed, laying my head on the back of the couch. He stood up and came to sit down next to me.

"Why does it bug you so much, Lainey? I thought we were… I don't know, I just thought-" he struggled to find the words. It was adorable. "I thought that we were going to try something."

"When did we decide this?" I asked, trying not to smile.

"I thought it went without saying. I thought that, hell, I don't know," he sighed, running this fingers through his hair and leaving it a mess. He was staring intently at the ground. I chuckled and placed my finger under his chin to lift it up. I looked into his eyes, and he stared right back into mine.

"I was kidding, Corny." I smiled, placing my hand on his cheek.

"Don't kid with me, my hearts fragile," he smiled, closing the distance between us with a soft kiss. "I could get used to this," he whispered, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"Good. I think you should get used to this," I whispered back, bringing my lips to his again.

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat, interrupting our moment. We broke away from each other and I gazed up at Kennedy. Where I used to look at him and see my best friend, I now looked at him and saw a complete stranger.

"Good morning," he mumbled, grabbing a coffee cup out of the cabinet.

"Morning," John replied. I didn't though. I really had nothing to say to Kennedy. I didn't agree with the random hooking up. Even though this wasn't that random, they had known each other for a long time. I couldn't help but wonder if this was the first time, though.

"Are we almost there?" he asked Phil.

"Yup," he replied. I wonder what Phil thought of everyone on the bus. Did he think we were all stupid kids? Probably.

"How much longer? I really need a shower, I feel gross."

"I'll be you do," I mumbled under my breath, but he heard me. He just turned around to look at me and then he looked at John.

"We just crossed the Georgia border, so forty-five minutes or so."

"We already passed through Alabama," I sighed. My mom lived there. I didn't talk to her much, because we were just too different to understand each other. I didn't want to stop to see her by any means, but I often wondered if I would fit in her new life. I heard she got married a few months ago. It crushed my dad to pieces. He was still madly in love with her.

"How is your mom, anyway?" John asked me, lacing our fingers together.

"I don't know," I shrugged, laying my head on his shoulder. I loved that he cared enough to ask. I loved the man he turned out to be.

"I love how you are with me," I whispered.

"What do you mean?" he asked, kissing my forehead.

"I don't know how to explain it. You care about me. Like, really care about me. Most guys could care less about how a girl feels at any given moment."

"I do care about you, Lainey. I have always cared about you. Even those years where we were apart, I always thought about you. I always wondered what you were doing, or if you were with a guy. Did he treat you okay, stuff like that."

"And I love you for that," I smiled, giving him a peck on the lips.

"Not together, my ass," Kennedy mumbled under his breath, slamming his coffee cup into the sink.

"Oh, shut up Kenny!" I yelled. "Does it really matter?"

"No, I suppose it doesn't!" he yelled back, storming to the back of the bus. I watched him go and then looked at John.

"So much sexual tension on this bus," he shook his head.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Nothing. I just… I know Kennedy had feelings for you, or rather _has_ feelings for you."

"I don't care though," I shrugged.

"I know. I can see that, I just don't want this to be for nothing Peyton. I am risking a lot here. You may not like who I have become since camp. You may end up hating me. I'm not the guy everybody thinks I am. I have as many skeletons in my closet as the next guy, if not more. You're my best friends ex. I have pretty much shot mine and Eric's relationship down the drain. I may never be able to repair that. I need this to be worth losing that. I just… need something in my life to work. I need _this_ to work."

"You're putting a lot of pressure on something that has barely started, John. I understand that you want this to work. Trust me, I want it to work too. I just-"

"I just don't need the added pressure of Kennedy's competition on top of everything else," he cut me off, his eyes trailing to Kennedy's bunk.

"Trust me John, Kennedy just ruined any chance of us ever being anything more than friends, and he's walking a fine line at that right now." I replied, laying my head on his shoulder. He sighed a sigh of relief.

"I don't want to label this right now. I just want to go with the flow, see where it takes us," he said. I nodded.

"That sounds perfect to me. Labels freak me out." I said, outlining the letters of one of his tattoos with my finger. He repeatedly ran his fingers through my hair. He knew what that did to me…

We talked about random things until we reached the venue. I had been to this venue a few years ago when I visited my mom. It was only two hours from Birmingham, Alabama. This venue was a little on the creepy side. It was called, "The Masquerade," and it had three different stages on three different levels. I hoped they were playing on the Heaven stage. It had a bar in the back. I just wished I could have drank. Pain pills and alcohol, not really smart.

We let everyone get off of the bus, but there was no way I was letting John get off when we had the whole bus to ourselves. Phil winked at us as he exited the bus. As soon as he was off, I pushed John up against the wall.

"Oh, this seems vaguely familiar," he whispered, "except I believe it was reversed."

"Mmmm, why are you whispering?" I whispered back.

"Don't you find it sexy?" he asked, resting his forehead on mine.

"I find everything you do sexy," I replied, lightly pushing my body up against his. He let out a small groan and pulled me closer.

"Is your leg okay?" he asked.

"Really? You ask about my leg now?" I asked, sounding slightly irritated.

"Oh, you know, if it hurt I would just do this," he said, picking me up and setting me down to where I was sitting on the counter in the small kitchen area.

"Would you really?" I asked, wrapping my good leg around his waist, pulling him closer.

"I would, and if I was a gentleman, I would give you a peck on the lips and walk away right now," he said, lightly kissing my neck.

"And are you a gentleman?" I asked, closing my eyes and knotting my fingers through his hair, enjoying the feel of his lips on my neck, his hands trailing down my body.

"Far from it," he growled, his lips finding their way to mine.

"Good," I whispered, deepening the kiss. I felt his hands slowly traveling up my shirt. Oh dear lord, John Cornelius O'Callaghan. Baby, don't stop now.

"MY EYES!" Garrett cried out, dramatically covering them. John broke away, and looked up at the ceiling, obviously pissed that we got interrupted. I sat up straight, and fixed my shirt.

"What Garrett?" John groaned, still staring at the ceiling.

"I was just grabbing something. Didn't know you guys were in here. MY EYES THOUGH, GUYS! THAT CANNOT BE UNSEEN!" he shouted again. I rolled my eyes and sighed. John helped me off of the counter and handed me my crutches. He smoothed my hair out and kissed my forehead.

"I'm just going to grab my bag, and then you guys can… carry on…" he trailed off, a weird look on his face. "Are you guys…?"

"No," we both answered at the same time.

"Alrighty then," Garrett nodded, grabbing his bag off of his bunk and exiting the bus again.

"I'm glad he came in, actually," John said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"Why?" I asked confused. I was rather enjoying myself.

"It's different with you. Normally I wouldn't think twice, but there were warning flags going off in my head. They were yelling at me. They were like, 'No John! Don't ruin this. Take it slow.' I didn't want to listen to them. But you are different, and I don't want to take advantage of you."

"Trust me John, I would stop you if I needed to. Trust me, I am a pro at crushing guys dreams." I laughed quietly to myself.

"Any guy who has had you before, I am jealous of him. I can't think of anyone else being with you, Peyton. It drives me crazy." He said in a low voice. I smirked.

"Really? Well, there's been many guys John. I almost would have wished I had waited." I sighed, trying not to laugh. I was a horrible liar, I hope it didn't show. He didn't say anything. He just stared out of the window above the sink.

"Did they treat you right, though?" he asked, finally looking at me. "Like you deserve to be treated?"

"No John. They didn't." I saw his face tense up. I decided not to torture him anymore. "Because there has never been anybody. I was just kidding." His face went from angry to confused.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"So, I'm a virgin. It's not that big of a deal…" I sighed, feeling self conscious. I hated this topic of discussion whenever it came up. I didn't see why it mattered.

"That's really great, Peyton," he smiled. Great? Really? "I wish I was," he stated with a sad smile.

"Oh, you're not?" I joked. He smiled and shook his head. "Who was your first time with?"

"Let's not get into this right now!" he said, finally helping me exit the bus. That just made me even more curious. This wasn't over, John O'Callaghan, this wasn't over.

I sighed as I looked up the stairs leading to one of the entrances to the venue. This venue was nothing but stairs, and I hated it. I looked over to where they were unloading all of the equipment and putting it on a lift that went to the top floor. Oh, perfect. John stopped walking and looked at me, then followed my gaze.

"I vote yes!" he said, leaning down so that I could hop on his back. I handed him my crutches and hopped on. The only problem was that the lift was right in front of the line to get in. People were already there hours before the show. We were waiting for the lift to come back down, John was still holding me on his back and the fans in line were gawking at us.

"Hi John," one of them said. He turned around and looked at her.

"Hello," he smiled back.

"Do you," she hesitated, obviously nervous, "Think that maybe, I could get a picture?"

"Sure," he smiled. I climbed off of his back and grabbed my crutches. John was so great with the fans. Another thing I loved about him. As soon as that girl got her picture, everyone else surrounded him. I stepped off to the side and watched, smiling the whole time. Girls wanted to kiss his cheek for pictures, so he let them. Some girls wanted crazy pictures, so he out-crazied them. Then something I never ever thought would happen, happened.

"Can I get a picture with you too?" the same girl who was brave enough to ask John for a picture first asked me.

"Uh, really?" I asked, wondering how she knew who I was. She smiled and nodded.

"There are videos of you and John singing all over youtube. I am already a fan," she smiled at me. She couldn't have been more than sixteen. Of course there were videos. She was a fellow Youtube stalker. I liked her already.

"Really? Well, then hell yes!" I answered her finally, fist pumping like a feg. I posed with a peace sign in hand, smiling the biggest smile my face could would allow.

"What's your name?" I asked her when we were finished snapping the picture.

"Brooke," she replied. Of course it was. Peyton and Brook. A One Tree Hill moment happening here.

"I'm Peyton," I replied.

"I know," she smiled, shyly. "I wish I could sing like you do."

"I'm sure you sing lovely. You shouldn't want to sing like me. You should want to sing like you." I smiled at her.

"I know, but-"

"Ready Peyton?" John asked when the lift was back down.

"Yeah, one second." I called out. "Are you alone?" I asked, directing my attention back to her.

"I am right now. My cousin went to Kroger to pee or something," she shrugged. "She was the only one who could drive me. She's a bitch, though."

"Bitches suck. Do you have a piece of paper?" I asked her. She dug around in her bag and found an old receipt. I reached in my back pocket and pulled out a sharpie.

"Admit Two: Backstage Pass. Yes, seriously, Julia. Don't question me! Love, Peyton." I wrote on it. I handed it to her and she read it, smiling brightly.

"Give this to Julia at merch when the Maine are about to go on. Come watch sidestage with me. If you want to, you don't have to. I'll make sure you get your spot back at the barricade, though. I promise."

"This is the best day of my life!" she said, hugging me and returning to her place in line. I hobbled over to John and we stepped on the lift. I sat down on an equipment box, resting my good leg for a minute. John wrapped his arm around me and waved at the fans the lift started moving. I looked at Brooke, winking at her before she went out of my view. She reminded me of someone. She reminded me of how I was at 16. Shy but brave.

"That was awfully nice of you," John said, handing me my crutches and helping me up as soon as the lift stopped.

"I'm a nice person," I joked, heading towards the merch table. John walked beside me.

"You haven't taken any pain pills today. Is your foot okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just can't wait until I walk without these things again," I said, motioning to the crutches. We reached the merch table to see Julia and Garrett setting up.

"Hey, what do you need me to do to help?" I asked Julia, leaning my crutches against the wall.

"You're going to help me today?" she joked, straightening out the shirts.

"Fuck yes, I am." I replied, taking some shirts out of the box. Forever the Sickest Kids were about to soundcheck. Jonathan was moping around today, not even looking our direction once. I looked over at Julia and she looked back at me, then rolled her eyes.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked her in a low voice. She glanced at Garrett and then back at Jonathan and then concentrated on setting up merch.

"Not right now, but yes," she whispered back. John came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling his face into my neck. I smiled and placed my hands over his. Julia gave me the, "What the fuck?" face. I mouthed the word, "later" and she nodded. I turned around to watch FTSK sound check. John's arms were still wrapped around me and Kennedy was staring me down. He was a few feet away at the bar, starting early. He looked horrible. If I had to guess, he didn't feel 100 percent after drinking whatever he drank last night. The barmaid was steady trying to flirt with him, but he just kept nodding and staring at me, obviously not listening to her. I watched FTSK finish sound checking and started clapping. I was the only one who did. I slowly stopped and looked around the room, feeling dumb. John chuckled in my ear. I rolled my eyes. Caleb winked at me and I smiled back. I had yet to talk to him. He seemed nice enough.

"Can we eat? I am starving." I asked, turning around a facing John.

"Let's go." He said, turning around so that I could hop on his back. He grabbed my crutches and held on to them.

"Hey Jules!" I shouted before John walked out of the room.

"What?" she yelled back.

"Want to go get food?" I asked.

"Uh, I think Garrett and I are going to get something in a little bit, but thanks."

"Onward, noble steed!" I joked and kicked John's butt. He chuckled and walked down the stairs.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked me, taking the long way around the building so we didn't attract the attention of the fans sitting outside.

"I want food."

"What kind?"

"The kind you eat."

"Okay, smart ass," he sighed, irritated.

"Just take me somewhere. I don't care." I sighed, laying my head down on his shoulder and closing my eyes.

"Remember Nicole?" John asked, taking a sip of his drink. We had finished eating our Subway sandwiches and we were sharing memories of camp.

"Fishy Nicky?" I asked, recalling her nickname.

"She didn't smell like fish!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Oh, she so did…" I tried not gag just thinking about her.

"We dated in high school." John smiled.

"Ew!" I shouted. Everyone in Subway looked our way. I blushed and covered my mouth.

"SHE DOESN'T SMELL LIKE FISH!" he shouted again.

"Can we change the subject. I almost never want to touch you again." I joked, wearing a disgusted face.

"Did you ever keep in touch with anyone from camp?" he asked.

"No. You were the only one from camp that I cared about." I shrugged. He reached across the table and grabbed both of my hands.

"Do you ever wonder where we would be if we would have kept in touch?" he asked, running his fingers over the tattoo on my wrist.

"Sure, I wonder about it. I don't know where we would be though."

"Oh, married by now. For sure." John joked. Or at least I hope he was joking.

"Hah right," I laughed.

"Is that so hard to believe?" he asked me, finally looking up at me.

"We're 21, John. I don't even want to get married. Ever. Marriage ruins everything. I don't want to get married, and I don't want kids. I can't stand the idea of a white picket fence, kids running around the yard, mini-van in the driveway. It makes me sick." I shook my head thinking about it.

"Makes you sick?" he asked, like it was an alien concept to him.

"Well… yeah." I replied. He let go of my hand and leaned back in his seat.

"Why?"

"I just don't see myself as that kind of person. I don't like kids, therefore I don't want any. I have never seen a successful marriage first hand, and I hate mini-vans."

"We can get a station wagon, instead." John joked. "I don't see how someone doesn't want a family. Kids are a mess, but they are kids. They are supposed to be. Marriage is special. My parents are still going strong. Some marriages last."

"Why are we even talking about this John? We aren't dating for Christ's sakes!"

"I know, I know. I've just been thinking about where my life is going, or where I want it to go. This music thing won't last forever. When it stops, whenever that may be, I want a real life, with a real family. Maybe even a dog. I just don't see how other people wouldn't want that. That's all."

"Not everyone is as optimistic as you are." I shrugged, taking a sip of my water.

"I suppose not," he sighed, looking out of the window.

I was waiting side stage while The Summer Set finished. John hadn't spoken to me since we had come back from Subway. That was fine. I didn't want to talk about the American Dream anymore, because frankly, it was creeping me out.

"Hey Peyton!" a petite voice behind me squealed out. I turned around and suddenly remembered the "Admit Two" passes I gave to Brooke earlier.

"You decided to come!" I smiled at her, motioning for her to come stand next to me.

"Of course! No way was I missing this," she said, radiating with excitement. The Summer Set was exiting the stage. She was staring at each member as they were walking past her.

"Guys wait!" I yelled. They all stopped and turned around and noticed Brook. John was the first one to introduce himself. They went around and shook hands and did introductions, and I could tell that Brook was on cloud 9.

"Want me to take a picture with you and the band?" I asked her. She squeeled and handed me her camera. I smiled. Glad I could make someone's night.

A few minutes later The Maine were standing side stage with us. Brooke kept staring at Garrett. I did too, because he was standing in women's underwear. They were Julia's underwear to be exact. I had seen them on laundry days. I tried not to laugh at how uncomfortable he looked, but it wasn't working.

"Shut up, Peyton," he sighed.

"Okay, sorry!" I replied, placing my hand over my mouth to stop the giggles.

"Where's your cousin?" I asked her as I waited until it was time for me to sing. Honestly, I didn't feel like singing tonight. At all. Something about the conversation with John in Subway unsettled me. Was I wrong for not wanting to get all serious about my future or what I didn't want my future to be like? No. I didn't feel like it was.

"I don't know. I told her we had sidestage passes. She just didn't want to come."

I shrugged and watched my boys.

Brooke was singing along to every song, never missing a word. She sounded pretty good. I was impressed.

"Atlanta, you guys are sexy," Garrett told the crowd.

"You are almost as sexy as Garrett in those very sexy undies. Very sexy. We have never played in this venue. We always played at the Tabernacle. That venue is creepy. The whole floor shakes." John added.

"Shut up, John. How many of you have seen us there?" Garrett asked. There were some cheers and claps from the crowd.

"That's awesome. Well, for this next song, I want to bring out a friend of ours. Peyton?" John asked, looking over to where I was standing. I grabbed Brooke's hand and brought her out with me. John gave me a questioning look. I just ignored it and grabbed his mic.

"This is me for tonight, everybody" I explained , pointing to Brook. John looked confused. So did Brooke. So did everyone else in the whole venue. I looked down at the set list to see what they were playing. Everything I Ask for. Perfect. I placed the microphone back on the stand and grabbed the extra mic from Gary, one of the techs.

"Deep breaths, you will be fine," I told Brooke as I handed her the microphone.

"WHAT?" she asked, looking at the microphone.

"I heard you sing over there! You've got this!" I smiled at her. She smiled back. "Are you ready for this?" I asked her.

"This is my dream, I was born ready for this," she replied, giving me a hug. I looked back at John, who still looked confused. Good. I grabbed Brooke's camera and made my way off of the stage. I decided to watch from the merch stand.

I heard the song start before I even reached the ramp that led off of the stage, and I smiled. I made someone's dream come true, and I didn't have to sing. Double whammy!

I reached the merch stand, but Julia wasn't there. Jonathan was.

"Where is Julia?" I asked him.

"I don't know. She left with some blonde chick a little while ago." Blonde chick?

"Listen, I am sorry about hitting you with my crutches, it was an accident."

"I know it was. I am sorry for not being friendlier to you. I have no excuse. I am just an ass," he smiled and held out his hand.

"Truce?" he asked.

"Truce." I agreed, and shook it. I directed my attention back towards the stage and watched Brooke sing her heart out.

I snapped a few pictures so she could rub it in anyone's face she wanted. She was singing with her favorite band, and she was hitting almost every note. Damn straight.

"I feel like an ass for not getting to know you. What you did for that kid, that was really nice," he stated, watching her sing.

"I like making other people happy. I live for it," I smiled back and sat down.

A little while later, Julia came into view. She sat down beside my chair and rested her head on my leg and began to sob. Full on sob. I got down on the floor with her and pulled her into a hug. I didn't know what was wrong. Everything seemed so perfect with her earlier.

"What is it? What happened?" I asked her, slowly rubbing her back.

"Pat…ex….I'm done with him," she sobbed.

"What sweetie? I can't understand you?" I replied. She sat back a little and looked at me through teary eyes.

"Pat's ex! She's here!" she choked out.

"Okay, well, the boys have exes. We have to deal. That's not that big of a deal." I tried to comfort her, but I could tell it wasn't helping.

"Ex is a very loose term right now," she sniffled. "He is getting back together with her, behind my back. He doesn't even have the balls to dump me. He thinks he can do whatever he wants. He can't do this to me. We are over."

"How do you know that?" I asked her, trying to let this information sink in.

"She showed me a text. I don't want to be here right now," she said standing up. I guess we lost track of time because The Maine were done with their set and they were going to meet the fans. John stopped by the table to grab a bottle of water, but said nothing to me. I just rolled my eyes.

"Jonathan, do you mind packing this up? I will make it up to you, I swear to god." I asked, nodding towards Julia so he would understand why I need to go. He nodded and smiled. I guess he was a nice guy after all.

I grabbed Julie's hand and started making my way towards the bus. I tried to sneak through the room because I didn't want to run into Pat, but that just wasn't possible, because I ran smack into him.

"Ow," he muttered, turning around. "Oh hey guys. Ju Ju what's wrong?" he asked reaching out to touch her. She stepped back and glared at him.

""You will never ever touch me again. Hold onto any good memories of me that you can remember because this is the last time I am ever going to speak to you. Fuck off, we are done." And with that, we both turned on our heels and made our way to the bus.


	20. What Do You Want From Me?

Julia and I had a much needed movie marathon. We stayed in Garrett's bunk, because she didn't want to see Pat's face, and I didn't blame her. Neither did Garrett, because he was more than happy letting us use his bunk. Every time there were footsteps walking by, Julia tensed up. The rest of the tour was going to be very awkward for her, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. We were watching School of Rock, which happened to be both of our favorite movie, quoting every line, eating popcorn and drinking. My foot didn't hurt anymore, so I stopped taking pain pills. That meant alcohol. And lots of it.

"Hey Pey?" Julie said, looking at me.

"Hm?"

"Why did we come on tour?" she asked, trying not to cry again. I was amazed she still had any tears left.

"We thought it was a good idea at the time. Things will look up. I hope, but if they don't then I am going to call my dad to come get us," I joked. "I just don't think tours are supposed to be this full of drama. I bet the guys would have had a better tour if we would have stayed at home. Kennedy and John would still be close. John wouldn't have a black eye. Pat would… still be an asshole. I wouldn't have broken my foot. And the list just goes on and on."

"I miss Arizona. I never thought I would say that," she sighed, closing her eyes.

"I miss… Arizona too.." I replied, thinking of Eric. We stopped talking and continued to watch the movie, quoting ever line flawlessly until we heard a knock on the side of the bunk. Julia tensed up so hard she started shaking. I opened the curtain a tiny bit to see who it was.

"It's okay Jules, it's just John," I sighed, and rolled out of the bunk, closing the curtain behind me.

"We should talk, I think," he stated, pulling me behind him to the back room.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, looking around the empty room. Jared and Garrett were usually back here.

"Squeezed in Pat's bunk," he smirked.

"Why?"

"Pat's like our little brother. We love him and hate him at the same time. They are lecturing him for how hard he fucked up today. Garrett and Jared love Julia. She didn't deserve that."

"Good," I nodded, sitting down. John sat on the couch opposite of mine.

"About today… our conversation, I didn't mean to freak you out."

"Well, I don't know if it freaked me out per say, but it just made me feel like a bad person for not wanting the same things. I mean, we aren't even dating John. I don't see why we have to talk about the future right now. We are 21. We need to enjoy life right now, not think about the future. The future freaks me out."

"If we were dating, would things be different?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair.

"I am afraid not." I sighed.

"Oh," was all he said for the longest time.

"I'm going to go check on Julie," I finally broke the silence and stood up.

"You do that," he sighed, lying down on the couch. I walked down the small hallway and grabbed the curtain to pull back, but I stopped when I heard Julie giggling. I let go of the curtain and smiled when I heard Garrett talk. He was trying to comfort her too. I looked at my watch; it was only 9 in Arizona. My dad would still be up. I hopped into John's bunk and grabbed his phone. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I touched the screen and the first thing I saw was a new text. From the one and only Eric Halvorsen. I didn't want to be the girl who read other people's texts, so I dropped the phone. I sat there for a few minutes just staring at it. Curiosity finally got the better of me. I grabbed the phone and opened the text.

From: Halvo

Either answer my text messages or I am leaving tour and coming to kick your ass.

Text messages. Hm. I laid the phone down again and stared at it. I had already read one; why not read these other text messages. I went through them one by one and immediately hated myself. I didn't want to be that girl. I was not that girl, but I missed Eric and just reading these texts made me feel closer to him. There was one that made my heart stop.

"Peyton and I didn't break it. It was a misunderstanding, and I tried to call her over and over again the next day. You need to stay away from her, or so help me god, I will kick your ass."

Misunderstanding. It was a misunderstanding. We weren't over? I thought back to that night where I thought he dumped me. He said that he couldn't do this right now. He couldn't fight with me right now is what he meant. I am so stupid. I looked at the text again. It was from three nights ago. The night John and I kissed on stage. I stood up and left my crutches lying against the wall. If I had them, I would probably beat John with them. My cast was finally dry and I could walk on it, thank god. I hated those crutches.

"You asshole, you fucking ASSHOLE!" I screamed. He sat up and looked at me with a confused face. I threw his cell phone at him.

"Eric and I. We weren't over? You didn't have the decency to TELL ME? You know how much of a wreck I was. You know how much I missed him. I can't believe you."

"Why did you go through my phone!" he stood up and challenged me.

"Why are you such a dick?" I retaliated.

"Peyton, I…"

"SHUT UP! You are a sad excuse for a human being."

"Peyton, I know you are mad, but you need to hear me out."

"Oh, do I? Because I think that whatever you have to say right now is a fucking waste of breath."

"I think I love you," he choked out as fast as he could. In love with me?

"Save it. I don't want to hear another word." And for once, I could say that with confidence. I really didn't want to hear another word from him right now. This was the worst thing anybody could have kept from me. I turned on my heel and stormed out of the back room. I had nowhere to go. All of the bunks didn't belong to me and Julia was talking to Garrett. I had nobody to talk to. Except… No. He wasn't doing anything… No, Peyton, stop it. He's just lying in his bunk, doing nothing. Damn it, Peyton.

I knocked on the wall and waited for him to open it. When he did, he was taken aback for a moment.

"I wasn't expecting it to be you." he said.

"I was just.. I don't know." I muttered, playing with the hem of my shirt, nervous. "I guess I was hoping we could talk?"

"Of course we can," he replied, scooting over. As soon as my ass hit the mattress, tears started pouring out of my eyes. His arms were around me .5 seconds after the first tear fell. Just like they used to be.

"Kennedy, I'm a mess, again," I choked out. He cradled my head to his chest and whispered sweet nothings into my ear, trying to calm me down. It worked, and I wiped away my last tear.

"Now, are you going to tell me what happened?" he asked, stroking my cheek lightly. So I did. I explained everything. John and I going to camp and finding each other again. How close we had gotten. The conversation at Subway. The text messages. No detail got skipped.

"Holy shit," Kennedy sighed.

"Holy shit," I agreed.

"So Halvo didn't dump you."

"Nope," I replied, popping the "p."

"So that night we…" he hesitated.

"Made out?" I finished for him.

"Yeah. You and Halvo were really still together?"

"Fuck me. Technically, I guess. But I didn't know that! I thought he hated me. I thought he never wanted to see me again, because of John. Jesus, John sure does fuck shit up, doesn't he?" I asked.

"He's a pro," he nodded. We were quiet for a long time, just sitting there, healing each other like we always did. Kennedy wouldn't admit it, but his life was shit right now too.

"I miss the hell out of you, buddy." I finally spoke up. He was quiet for a moment longer.

"I want my best friend back," he finally replied, kissing the top of my head.

"Life just doesn't function without you, Kenny. You see how bad I fuck it up when you leave me to myself!"

"You saw how much I fucked up," he sighed. I sat back and looked at him.

"So why did you sleep with Jess if you didn't want to?" I asked.

"Oh, I wanted to, believe me. Just for all of the wrong reasons. I was drunk. I was mad at you. I was drunk." He smiled.

"So when you are mad at me, you sleep with girls?" I mocked him.

"I don't know, this is the first time I have ever been mad at you." he shrugged.

"So, sleep with a random girl, Kenny. Not Jess Bowen! The girl is too sexy for you." I joked.

"Ugh, I know. Why did I have to sleep with her!" he asked, burying his head in his hands.

"She is on the same tour you are on! Did you not think that the aftermath would be awkward?" I continued on my little rant.

"I get it,"

"I mean, look at Julia and Pat. How awkward is the rest of the tour going to be for them? People need to think of these things before they start stuff."

"Woah, woah. You can't lecture people on the same shit you do, Peyton," he chuckled. "The rest of the tour isn't going to be awkward for you and John?"

"No. Because I refuse to talk to him for a very long time." I smiled. Kennedy and I talked for a long time, staying up just like old times. I am sure our joking and giggling were getting on everybody's nerves. I didn't care though, I missed this. More that I would like to admit. I looked down at my watch and sighed. 3 am.

"It's really three?" Kennedy asked.

"Where did the time go?" I asked, finally letting myself realize how tired I was.

'Time flies. Can you stay with me tonight?" he asked nervously.

"I was going to ask you if I could." I smiled and laid down. Kennedy wrapped an arm around me. I didn't fall asleep immediately, because too much was going on in my head. Everything was replaying over and over again. There was hope. I may have shot it to hell, but there was a tiny bit of hope that Eric and I could fix this huge mess. Kennedy was lightly snoring in my ear. Oddly, I found it comforting. I missed this. I finally shut my brain down and fell asleep to Kennedy's snoring.

"Wake. The. Fuck. Up. Wake. The. Fuck. Up. Wake. The. Fuck. Up," is what I woke up to. Or rather what we woke up to.

"JARED MONSTERCOCK MONACO, FUCK OFF." I screamed.

"It is too early," Kennedy grumbled.

"Wake. The. Fuck. Up. Wake. The. Fuck. Up," he kept repeating over and over again. Like a damn robot.

"GO AWAY," I yelled again.

"Not until you," he whispered. Then he started screaming, "WAKE. THE. FUCK. UP." Then Garrett joined in.

"Wake."

"The."

"Fuck,"

"Up."

They were switching off on every word. The fact that it was being shouted didn't bother me. The fact that they were completely monotone drove me absolutely crazy.

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CAN IT!" John screamed from somewhere on the bus.

"I will give you guys 50 dollars apiece to go to wherever John is, and continue this there," I mumbled.

"We'll do it for free!" They high-fived each other and left us alone.

Soon enough, the bus stopped, and I had yet to get dressed. Kennedy hadn't either. I heard everyone outside of the bunk filing off of the bus.

"Kenny, let me borrow clothes. I don't feel like digging through my suitcase."

"Hell no!" he replied, standing up and peeling his shirt off. A lump suddenly appeared in my throat and I had to look away. Damn.

"Stop being a queen. They are just clothes," I whined.

"Qurl, my clothes are high fashion, and you do not need to muck them up with your grimy hands!" he whipped his head around and snapped his fingers.

"Okay, drag queen." I giggled and grabbed the jeans he was about to slip on and the shirt on the top of his suitcase. I ran to the bathroom and locked the door. He was banging on it, but that wasn't going to help at all. I opened the door and he just sighed.

"Fine, but GIVE THEM BACK. I mean it, Peyton," he smiled and walked back to his suitcase.

"Don Pepe's?" Kennedy asked, trying not to giggle.

"DON PEEPEE'S!" I replied, quickening my pace. "I am starving." I started running. If you want to call it that. My cast was making it impossible. I was wearing the hideous boot that goes over it designed to let you walk without worrying about damaging your cast. It was so ugly. "LOSER BUYS THE WINNER LUNCH!"

"Oh, you are ON!" he replied, catching up to me.

"I want two soft tacos." I spanked his butt as he went through the door. I won. He let me win, but I wasn't complaining. He ordered for us and I went to sit down with Jared, Garrett and Julia. John and Pat were sitting at a table by themselves. Good. I pictured them both wearing giant dunce caps and bursted into a fit of laughter.

"What?" Jared asked me, his mouth full of burrito.

"Nothing," I smiled and scooched over when Kennedy arrived with our food.

"FOOD! Thank you, Justin Richards!" I exclaimed.

"My name is Kennedy Brock," he replied, giving me an odd look.

"Right," I nodded. I looked at Julia and she was stifling a laugh. She knew what I meant. I thought Justin Richards was god's gift to planet earth. I just thought that Justin was god. So, instead of saying god, I said Justin Richards. It was just something I did. I did this long before I met him, because Brighten has been one of my favorite bands for a long time. After I met him, it was just awkward to say, but sometimes I slipped up. It was a habit.

"I think I am going to grow a pedostache," Jared randomly spoke up.

"Dear god, why?" Julia asked, munching on her third taco. Where did she put it?

"Because, I want to belong to the cool 'stache club. You know, Kennedy, Garrett, Austin Gibbs, Jonathan, Caleb," he started listing the guys who have had creepy mustaches in the past.

"JMCM, I beg you, think twice about this decision," I pleaded.

"No way. I am doing it. Starting today! Kennedy, hide my razor. Give me tips, too. Yours was so epic."

"No way, mine was epic!" Garrett chimed in.

"Yours was gross. Thank god you shaved it," Julia smiled.

"Yours was gross too, Kenny. Looked like a dead animal on your face." I said, laying my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my and rubbed my arm in a comforting motion.

"Let's go, kids," Phil said, walking up to our table. "We are on a schedule."

"But I'm not done with my tacos!" Julia said, practically shoving the whole thing in her mouth. Attractive. Jared took one of the remaining tacos, and Kennedy grabbed the other one, and then they shoved them in their mouths. I did not want to see the mad dash to find a restroom later. On second thought, it would be entertaining.

"There, now you're done," Phil mumbled, walking back towards the bus. I stood up and stretched. It was good to be off of the bus, however briefly. Kennedy grabbed our trey and went to take it to the trash. I turned to head towards the door when I saw a catastrophe in the works. Pat bumped into Julia. I stood there for a minute, wanting to see how she reacted. Be strong Julie, be strong. I couldn't hear what was being said until Julia basically started yelling.

"What? What could you possibly want?" she interjected. I felt it was time for me to step in. Pat was talking, but I couldn't hear him.

"Excuse me?" she yelled. "You never meant to _hurt_ me? Then why, Pat? Why did you feel the need to see your ex-girlfriend behind my back?" Oh shit. I knew Julie. Tears were in her near future. Nope, not giving him the satisfaction, so I walked up behind her and put my hands on her shoulders to direct her away from Pat.

"Calm down, Julia, calm down," I repeated over and over until we got back on the bus. I took her to the back and sat down beside her on the couch. I rested my arm around her shoulder and she laid her head on mine.

"I don't like him," she mumbled. I just laughed. I do too.

"I know, I know," I said. . We sat there just like that for a while, just chatting about things. I was trying to get her mind off of Pat. I didn't know how long I could keep it up, though. Jared eventually joined us.

"Hey JMCM," Julia greeted him, sitting up. He sat down on the other side of her.

He flashed a smile at her that could melt anybody's heart. He was one of the nicest guys I had ever met. "Hey. You feeling okay?" he asked her.

"I'm alright now," she replied.

"I seduced her, so now she's in love with me," I chimed in, smiling.

"It's true! Peyton's just," she looked over at me, and I looked back at her "so…..sexy….."  
We brought our faces in really slowly, like we were about to kiss.

"Woah! Okay! I'm gone!"Jared stated, standing up and leaving the room. We started laughing loudly. Like, really loudly. Shortly after that happened, Garrett and Kennedy came to the back of the bus.

"Jared said you two were about to do it, so we came back here to watch," Kennedy said as he sat down beside me. Garrett took a seat beside Jules.

"You _just_ missed it!" she said, leaning back.

"It was amazing," I whispered, winking at her.

"I'm sure it was," Garrett replied, looking at Jules. I was amazed he didn't have a boner right now. That usually happened right about now.

We all ended up just talking and enjoying being happy for a while. We all needed it. We ended up playing that game where one person says one word, and the next person says one word, and they keep going until they have a sentence.

Kennedy started. "My."

I went next. "Pants."

The Julia "Are."

Then it was Garrett. "Too." Then the cycle started over.

"Sexy."

"For."

"My."

"Dad."

"So."

"He."

"Took."

"Them."

"And."

"He."

"Beat."

"Me."

"And."

"He."

"Ate."

"Sausages! The end," Garrett said. All of us were laughing really hard because that sentence made no sense at all.

"Sausages, Garrett?" I asked

"Mother fucking sausages!" he smiled. The bus finally came to a stop.

"WE'RE HERE!" I yelled, fist-pumping.

"FUCK YES!" Kennedy joined in.

"FUCKING FINALLY!" Julia jumped up.

"LET'S FUCKING GO!" Garrett yelled.

"DO A LITTLE DANCE, HAVE A LITTLE SEX, GO DOWN ON ME TONIGHT, UH HUH UH HUH," Jared was singing as he ran off of the bus.

I was doubled over in laughter at his song. I loved that boy.

"Garrett do you realize where we are?" Kennedy asked, looking out of the windows.

"No. I have no clue," he shrugged.

"North Carolina, which means,"

"SHOWERS!" Garrett cut him off, running towards the door.

"OH MY GOD, SHOWERS? I FUCKING LOVE SHOWERS!" I yelled, grabbing my shower bag and hobbling off of the bus. Kennedy and Julia were right behind me.

"Where are these magical showers?" I asked Kennedy.

"Follow me, my dears," he answered, holding the door open for us. We went downstairs and there they were, in all of their glory.

"Oh shower, how I have missed you." I sighed happily, setting my stuff down. Julie wasted no time and went into one of the stalls, starting to undress before she even got in there. I laughed at her, and then realized that I had nobody to help me wrap my cast up. I looked over to Kennedy, and gave him a puppy dog face.

"What?" he asked me, lost.

"Wait right here," I answered. I went into the stall and peeled my shorts and top off. I wouldn't be able to get my shorts off over the plastic bag. I wrapped a towel around me and re-emerged from the stall. I saw Kennedy swallow hard, and I inwardly smiled.

"Can you help me wrap my cast?" I asked, sitting down on a bench.

"Sure," he cleared his throat and squatted down in front of me. He grabbed the plastic and carefully started to wrap my cast. I took this time to thoroughly study him. I realized how much I liked his hair the length it was. The slight gap in his teeth that poked out when he bit his bottom lip from concentrating. The beads of sweat that were forming on his forehead because I made him that nervous. His eyebrows that were getting out of control. He finally finished and looked up at me. Our eyes locked for a moment and then I looked away.

"Thanks Kenny," I smiled. He stood up and helped me up.

"You're welcome," he replied.

"SHOW ME YO BOOTYHOLEE! OHHHHHHHHHHHH. DAT BOOTY. DAT B-B-B-B-BOOTYHOLE! DAT BOOTY!" Julia started belting and I almost peed my figurative pants at the sound. That was, at one time, our favorite song. Kennedy chuckled.

"Shower. I'll see you afterwards," he smiled at me. I nodded and made my way to my shower stall. This shower much was needed. I smelled like a homeless man. This shower was loud and hot. It was glorious. Best thing to happen me all tour. No lie. I finished with my shower and when I emerged, fully clothed, nobody was there. I walked up to the mirror and wiped the steam off of it with my towel. I quickly sprayed gel and mousse in my hair and tousled it with my fingers. I put on a light coat of make-up and examined myself. Not too shabby. I ran back to the bus to put my shower things away. I tripped over Kennedy's open suitcase and fell right on top of someone.

You all guessed it. You know who it was. This is my life we are talking about here.

"Sorry," I sighed and straightened myself out. I dropped my shit on Kennedy's bunk. I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could. I didn't have time to put all of this shit up.

"It's fine. Are you ever going to forgive me?" John asked. He actually sounded like this was tearing him up. I bet this was all a giant game to him.

"Why didn't you tell me, though?" I asked, still not grasping it.

"I told you why."

"No."

"Sit down, this may take awhile," he sighed.

"I don't have awhile, John. Kennedy is probably waiting for me." He cringed when I said Kennedy's name.

"Can we talk later then?" he asked.

"No." I replied. I was starting to lose my cool. He was starting to irk me.

"I didn't tell you because then you wouldn't want me anymore. Who would?" he asked.

"What?"

"Who would want me over Halvo? Halvo is the perfect boyfriend. He knows the rules. He knows how to treat you. I am John O'Callaghan. Never dated a girl longer than three months. I don't treat girls right. Different girl every week. Random sex when I want. But that was the old me. That was until I got caught up in you. I don't want any of that anymore. I want to be with one person for the rest of my life. I want to be with y-"

"John, I can't deal with this right now," I sighed and then I realized what I had just said. The same words Halvo said to me. They came out so easy. How did I think that he meant that we were breaking up? I was so stupid.

"I can't deal with this later. It is now or never," he replied, brushing my hair out of my face.

"If you want to know who I choose, I choose Eric. I choose my BOYFRIEND," I retaliated, swatting his hand away. I ran as fast as my cast could take me off of the bus. I needed alcohol and I needed it now.

As I walked into the venue, I saw Caleb leaning against a wall, texting.

"Hey," I greeted. He looked up and smiled.

"Hey," he replied.

"Do you know where the bar is?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, let's go." He started walking and I followed him. "We haven't really met yet, but I am Caleb," he told me. Duh.

"I know. I am Petyon," I replied.

"I know," he replied, with a smile. We arrived at the bar and I took a seat. To my surprise he did too.

"What'll it be?" the bartender asked. He was cute. Not as cute as Caleb, but he wasn't ugly by any means.

"Vodka and Red Bull," I replied.

"Same," Caleb told him.

"Can I see your id's?" he asked. We both whipped them out and handed them to him. Six drinks later, Caleb was getting really talkative, and I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Another!" he shouted to the bartender.

"I have orders to cut you guys off," the bartender answered. Caleb looked confused, but I know who did it. John was standing on the other side of the bar, talking to Pat. I gave him a death glare. He smiled back, like the asshole he was. I did the only thing that I could think to do to get back at him.

"Caleb," I whispered.

"Peyton," he whispered back.

"Kiss me," I whispered back.

"Why?" he replied.

"I'll explain later," and with that, Caleb grabbed my face and pulled me in for a long kiss and I kissed him back. I wanted to keep my eyes open to see John's reaction, but then he would know I did it just to piss him off. What was I thinking? He would know either way. I pulled away and looked in his direction. He was fuming. His fists were balled up and his face was turning red. I directed my attention towards the bartender.

"We aren't cut off anymore," I smiled sweetly at him, and pulled out a 20 from my pocket. He nodded and made us another drink.

We were so busy talking and drinking that we didn't notice it was almost show time. The bar was in a different part of the venue, and only people legal to drink were allowed in. There were fans at the door looking in longingly at Caleb and I just giggled. The security guard shooed them away.

"I am amazed I am still alive," I sighed.

"Why?" Caleb asked, doing another shot of tequila.

"I am on tour to be a merch girl. I never merch. Julia should murder me." I replied.

"You never merch? What the fuck does that mean?" he asked.

"It means that I am drunk and I turn everything into a verb." I replied, doing my shot.

"How many have we had?" Caleb asked. I looked at the line of empty cups and shot glasses. Everything was blurring together.

"Not enough!" I slurred.

"Oh, you have had enough," Kennedy smiled as he wrapped his arms around me from the back. I looked back over my shoulder.

"Kenny!" I yelled.

"Shhh, Peyton. Jesus, you are loud." Kennedy replied. "The show is starting. Want to come watch with me?" he asked.

"No, I need to go help Julia. That is what I am getting paid for," I stated, matter of factly. I stood up and immediately sat back down. How many drinks did we have? Caleb tried to stand up too. Same result.

"Come on, you two," Kennedy sighed, helping us both up. He didn't mind being used as a crutch.

"I love you, Kenny!" I said, laying my head on his shoulder as we walked.

"I love you too, Peyton," he whispered. I don't think I was supposed to hear it.

"Julia!" I slurred as we arrived at the merch table.

"Holy Justin Richards in heaven, what did you do to them Kennedy?" Julia asked, helping me sit down. Caleb leaned against the merch table and knocked some bracelets off. A few people walking by grabbed them and started to run.

"I KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE, BITCHES," Julia yelled after them.

"Don't worry about it, Jules," Kennedy told her.

"Caleb, how are you going to play?" Julia asked him.

"I have been doing this for years. I play better drunk. I think," he stated, pondering about it for a bit.

"I'm fine, Kenny. Go get ready to play," I told him, giving him a push.

"No more drinking!" he ordered, giving me a kiss on the forehead.

"I promise!" I answered him.

I went to the door and leaned on the frame for support. My attention was directed at the stage where The Maine was halfway through their set. John was in a butthurt kind of mood, and I wasn't feeling so well. I felt like, for the first time, I may just throw up.

"This is the part of the set where I bring out friend Peyton up." John mumbled into the microphone. "Where are you, Peyton?" he asked. I didn't answer.

"Peyton, come on," Kennedy urged me. I just shook my head no. The crowd was quiet, and you could cut the intensity with a knife.

"Peyton, seriously, come on," John demanded.

"NO!" I shouted back.

"You know what, fuck this. Fuck everything. I am glad things happened the way they did and I am glad that I hurt you. I hope you hurt as much as I do," he spat out. In front of the whole venue. The whole fucking venue. I couldn't reply. I didn't know what to say. I just stared at him. Then I felt it. My upchuck reflexes were about to get a workout. I bolted out of the room as fast as my cast could carry me to the bathroom. I stood there, but nothing came out. Except tears. They came hard and they wouldn't stop. I sat down on the dirty bathroom floor and cried for what seemed like hours. I cried until there were no tears left. I cried through Julia banging so hard on the door that her hand probably hurt. I cried until John Gomez and Kennedy busted down the locked bathroom door and picked me up. I cried until I was safely squished between John and Kennedy in the Summer Sets van. I cried as they both tried to comfort me. I cried until I fell asleep on John Gomez's shoulder on the way to the next venue. No awkward bus for me tonight.


	21. You're Not Alone

"And the legend of the rent was way past due!" Peyton and I sang. We were in Garrett's bunk watching the greatest movie known to man, School of Rock, eating popcorn and drinking, because I didn't want to see any part of Pat. I guess Peyton didn't either. People would walk by from time to time, and I kept getting paranoid that it would be Pat and that he would open the curtain, so I kept tensing up.

"Hey Pey?" I said, looking over at Peyton.

"Hm?" She mumbled, looking back.

"Why did we come on tour?" I asked her. All these thoughts kept rushing back in my head, and I almost started to cry again.

"We thought it was a good idea at the time. Things will look up. I hope, but if they don't then I am going to call my dad to come get us," she said. I chuckled at her and she continued. "I just don't think tours are supposed to be this full of drama. I bet the guys would have had a better tour if we would have stayed at home. Kennedy and John would still be close. John wouldn't have a black eye. Pat would… still be an asshole. I wouldn't have broken my foot. And the list just goes on and on."

"I miss Arizona. I never thought I would say that," I sighed, closing my eyes.

"I miss… Arizona too..." she replied.

We stopped talking and continued to watch the movie, quoting every line like it was nobody's business. I had seen that movie too many times. I heard footsteps coming close to the bunk, so I tensed up. But they stopped right outside of the bunk. Then, there was a knock. I started to shake. Peyton peeked behind the curtain to see who it was.

"It's okay Jules, it's just John," she sighed. She rolled out of the bunk and closed the curtain behind her. Okay.

I sat there for a few minutes by myself, still quoting every line of the movie. I heard someone roll out of a bunk, but I didn't worry about it. Then, someone grabbed on the curtain and started to pull it back. I started shaking and looked the other way.

"What? Don't want to see me?" Garrett said. I stopped shaking and looked over at him. He had a pouty-face going on.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were going to be someone else," I replied. He stopped pouting and got in beside me. He closed the curtain behind him. We both were starring at the screen in front of us, being silent for awhile before Garrett finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry."

I looked over at him. "For what?"

"You know, Pat."

I looked back down at the screen. "It's whatever."

"No, it's not. That was so stupid of him. You didn't deserve that," he said, pushing some loose hair behind my ear, which gave me chills.

"Well, there's nothing I can do now except stop thinking about it.." I said, but it was kind of hard to forget, especially since we'd be on tour for at least twenty more stops. I felt tears coming, again. I think Garrett could tell.

"Knock knock!"

"..What?" I asked, looking over at him.

"I said, knock knock," he replied with a smile.

"Uh, who's there?"

"Interrupting cow."

"Interrupting cow w-"

"MOO!" he yelled, interrupting me. I busted out laughing.

"That was the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

"Well, you laughed!" he defended.

"Because it was so corny," I said, smiling at him. He smiled back.

"You know, smiles are the most beautiful thing in the world. Especially yours."

"It's not that great," I said, blushing.

"It really is! I love it when you smile." That made me smile, so he did too. "See? Like that. You need to do that more often."

"It'll be hard too, knowing that I have to see a certain someone's face on tour every day." My smile faded away.

"Well…do you want me to put a bag over his head?" he asked me. I giggled.

"Yes ….no. If I can ignore my family for 2 years, I can ignore Pat for a month, right?"

He pulled me in for a hug. "You'll be okay."

"You asshole, you fucking ASSHOLE!" Peyton yelled from the front room. Garrett pulled away from our hug and peeked out the window. He watched for a long time then finally put his head back in the bunk.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Well," he started, looking a little confused, "all I really got out of that was that Halvo never broke up with Peyton, and John didn't tell her."

"Oh …. Wow…" I mumbled. This was really shitty. Now things were going to be awkward for her and John. "Peyton was right. We should have just stayed at home."

"No!" Garrett quickly chimed in. "No, no, no."

"Why not? Like she said, John and Kennedy would still be close, Peyton wouldn't have the broken foot, none of this would of happened," I mumbled, tears streaming down my face. Garrett set aside the laptop the movie was playing on and pulled me into his arms. My face was pressed up against his chest, and I was probably getting his shirt very wet in that one spot.

"I wouldn't be close to you like I am now," he said quietly, rocking me back and forth. "I wouldn't have learned that you played guitar. I wouldn't have seen you start the diarrhea chant. I wouldn't have seen your vagina, I-" He stopped when he saw I was looking at him with a 'Seriously?' face. "I'm just kidding!" I put my head back on his chest as he continued. "If you weren't on your with us, I wouldn't have the opportunity to see you smile every day."

"Garrett, you really know how to cheer people up, don't you?" I said to him, pulling away from him just a little bit so I could see his face.

"I aim to please," he replied with a grin. I replied with a huge ass yawn that probably made me look like a monster. He just laughed at me. "Tired?"

"Obviously," I said. Then it just hit me. "Where am I going to sleep?"

"You can have my bunk. I'll take the couch," he replied.

"Are you sure? I can sleep on the couch."

"I want you to have your privacy, though."

"Well…okay."

He sat up and looked in my direction. "Cheer up, kid. I promise it'll get better." He leaned over, kissed my forehead, and left the bunk, closing the curtain behind him. I shut my eyes, and for the first time in a long time, I fell asleep. Smiling.

I woke up due to the fact that I accidently hit myself in the face while shifting around in my sleep.

"Ow, shit," I mumbled, repositioning myself to where I was lying on my back.

"Good morning."

"SHIT!" I yelled, jumping. I didn't expect Garrett to be sitting beside me when I woke up. "Good morning…what're you doing in here?"

"I heard you shifting around, so I thought you were awake, so I brought you some Sunny D, but you were still sleeping. I've only been sitting here for about 10 minutes," he replied.

I sat up and took the cup filled with the delicious drink from him. "Thank you." I took a sip, and then spoke. "Did you sleep okay last night?"

"Kind of. I kept having strange dreams, but other than that, it was okay."

I took another sip of my Sunny D. "Well, you can have the bunk tonight, I'll take the couch."

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah. I'll just turn the other cheek if someone decides to come around." Then, the curtain opened. It was Jared.

"Garrett, would you help me wake up; oh, hey Julia!" he greeted, sounding very jolly.

"Hello JMCM," I replied, flashing a grin.

"Anyways, will you help me wake up everyone? We're about to make a pit stop, so we all need to be awake so we don't have to stop again," he said, looking at Garrett.

"Sure," he replied, getting out of the bunk, but leaving the curtain open. They headed over to Kennedy's bunk.

"Wake. The. Fuck. Up. Wake. The. Fuck. Up. Wake. The. Fuck. Up," Jared stared chanting.

"JARED MONSTERCOCK MONACO, FUCK OFF." Peyton yelled at him. …. Peyton? Oh god.

"It is too early," Kennedy mumbled.

"Wake. The. Fuck. Up. Wake. The. Fuck. Up," Jared kept repeating. I was laughing my ass off, almost spilling my drink.

"GO AWAY," Peyton screamed.

"Not until you," Jared whispered. Then he started screaming, "WAKE. THE. FUCK. UP." Then Garrett joined in.

"Wake."

"The."

"Fuck,"

"Up."

They were switching off on every word. I was about to piss my pants from laughing so hard

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CAN IT!" John screamed from somewhere on the bus.

"I will give you guys 50 dollars apiece to go to wherever John is, and continue this there," Peyton murmured to them.

"We'll do it for free!" They high-fived each other and walked towards the back of the bus. I ended up spilling my drink on myself.

After I cleaned up Garrett's bunk and myself, I put on some new clothes and joined Jared and Garrett in the front of the bus.

"So, where are we, Phil-a-roo?" Jared asked him.

"Don't call me that. Ever. And we're about 40 miles from the venue," he replied. "We're about to stop at a Cowboy's truck stop."

"If there's not a diner there or something, I'm going to eat Jared," Garrett said.

"Why me? Why not eat Kennedy? We don't need two guitar players," Jared defended.

"Good point.." Garrett murmured, looking back towards the bunks.

"There's a place called Don PePe's there. It's a Mexican place," Phil said. All three of us started laughing, and Phil just sighed.

We stopped shortly after that. Jared, Garrett, and I got off the bus as soon as the bus stopped, practically running towards this PePe's place. When we got in, they let me order first.

"Can I just have…..six chicken tacos and a small water?" I asked the guy behind the register.

"Woah, woah, woah. You're getting _six_ of those?" Jared chimed in, putting emphasis on 'six'.

"I'm hungry as shit, dude," I replied, pulling the money out of my wallet to pay.

"Are you seriously going to eat all of those?" Garrett asked.

"I think so. If not I'll just give them to John. The boy needs to eat, anyways."

I got my tacos and drink, and then sat down. I was soon joined by Garrett, Jared, and Peyton. Kennedy was waiting up front for his and Peyton's food. She looked over at Pat and John, who were sitting by themselves at a separate table, and busted out into laughter.

"What?" Jared asked her, mouth full of food.

"Nothing," she replied, scooting over when Kennedy arrived with food.

"Thank you, Justin Richards!" she exclaimed.

"My name is Kennedy Brock," he replied, giving her an odd look.

"Right," she nodded. She looked at me and I was stifling a laugh. She thought Justin Richards was a god. Seriously.

"I think I am going to grow a pedostache," Jared randomly spoke up.

"Dear god, why?" I asked him.

"Because, I want to belong to the cool 'stache club. You know, Kennedy, Garrett, Austin Gibbs, Jonathan, Caleb," he started listing the guys who have had creepy mustaches in the past.

"JMCM, I beg you, think twice about this decision," Peyton pleaded.

"No way. I am doing it. Starting today! Kennedy, hide my razor. Give me tips, too. Yours was so epic."

"No way, mine was epic!" Garrett chimed in.

"Yours was gross. Thank god you shaved it," I smiled.

"Yours was gross too, Kenny. Looked like a dead animal on your face." Peyton said, putting her head on his shoulder. I smiled at the fact that they were on good terms again. I looked over at Garrett, who was smiling at me. I blushed a little.

"Let's go, kids," Phil said, walking up to our table. "We are on a schedule."

"But I'm not done with my tacos!" I said, munching on my fourth one. Jared took one of the remaining tacos, and Kennedy grabbed the other one, and they both ate them pretty quickly.

"There, now you're done," Phil mumbled, walking back towards the bus. I stood up, grabbing the tray my tacos were on over to the trash can. I dumped the trash in and set the tray on top in the designated tray spot. As I was turning around, I bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm very so-… oh," I started until I saw who it was I bumped into.

"I'm … sorry, Julia," Pat stuttered while walking around me to dump his trash. Did he seriously have to go to the same trash can as me?

"Whatever," I mumbled, walking away from him.

"No, wait, please," he said before I got too far. I turned on my heels.

"What? What could you possibly want?" My voice was getting loud.

"I mean, I'm sorry, for everything," he murmured. "I never meant to hurt you…"

"Excuse me?" I was yelling at this point. "You never meant to _hurt_ me? Then why, Pat? Why did you feel the need to see your ex-girlfriend behind my back?" I was shaking, I was stuttering, and tears were about to roll down my face. Just before I broke down, Peyton came up and put her hands on my shoulders, turning me around, and pushing me away from Pat.

"Calm down, Julia, calm down," she kept repeating to me until we got on the bus. She took me to the back and sat down beside me. She had her arm around my shoulder, and I had my head rested on her shoulder.

"I don't like him," I mumbled to her. She let out a laugh.

"I know, I know," she said. We sat there just like that for a while, just chatting about things. She was trying to get my mind off of Pat, and it worked. For now. Jared eventually joined us.

"Hey JMCM," I greeted, sitting up. He sat down on the other side of me.

He flashed a cutesy smile at me. "Hey. You feeling okay?"

"I'm alright now," I replied.

"I seduced her, so now she's in love with me," Peyton chimed in.

"It's true! Peyton's just," I looked over at her then started talking again, "so…..sexy….."  
Peyton and I brought our faces in really slowly, like we were about to kiss.

"Woah! Okay! I'm gone!"Jared stated, standing up and leaving the room. Peyton and I started laughing loudly, probably annoying the other guys on the bus. Shortly after that happened, Garrett and Kennedy came to the back of the bus.

"Jared said you two were about to do it, so we came back here to watch," Kennedy said as he sat down beside Peyton. Garrett took a seat beside me.

"You _just_ missed it!" I said, leaning back a little.

"It was amazing," Peyton whispered, winking at me.

"I'm sure it was," Garrett replied, looking at me as well.

We all ended up talking about random shit for a few minutes, and we ended up playing that game where one person says one word, and the next person says one word, and they keep going until they have a sentence.

Kennedy started. "My."

Next was Peyton. "Pants."

Then me. "Are."

Then it was Garrett. "Too." Then the cycle started over.

"Sexy."

"For."

"My."

"Dad."

"So."

"He."

"Took."

"Them."

"And."

"He."

"Beat."

"Me."

"And."

"He."

"Ate."

"Sausages! The end," Garrett said. All of us were laughing really hard because that sentence made sense at all.

"Sausages, Garrett?" Peyton asked

"Mother fucking sausages!" he smiled. The bus finally came to a stop.

"WE'RE HERE!" Peyton yelled, fist-pumping. What a fag.

"FUCK YES!" Kennedy joined in.

"FUCKING FINALLY!" I screamed, jumping up.

"LET'S FUCKING GO!" Garrett yelled.

"DO A LITTLE DANCE, HAVE A LITTLE SEX, GO DOWN ON ME TONIGHT, UH HUH UH HUH," Jared was singing as he ran off of the bus. I almost peed from laughing.

"Garrett do you realize where we are?" Kennedy asked, looking out of the windows.

"No. I have no clue," he shrugged.

"North Carolina, which means…"

"SHOWERS!" Garrett cut him off, running towards the door.

"OH MY GOD, SHOWERS? I FUCKING LOVE SHOWERS!" Peyton yelled, grabbing her shower bag and getting off the bus. I grabbed mine and followed right behind her.

"Where are these magical showers?" Peyton asked Kennedy.

"Follow me, my dears," he answered, holding the door open for us. We went downstairs and there they were. It was like I was looking at a unicorn or something.

"Oh shower, how I have missed you," Peyton said. I fast walked to the stall, already having my shirt off before I even got in there, not giving a shit. I got in there, took off the rest of my clothes, and turned on the water. It was the sweetest feeling in the world. I scrubbed my armpits for about five minutes because I smelt like all the animals at the zoo took a shit on me at the same time. It made me very happy for some reason, that shower. It was much needed. I felt like singing … so I did.

"SHOW ME YO BOOTYHOLEE! OHHHHHHHHHHHH. DAT BOOTY. DAT B-B-B-B-BOOTYHOLE DAT BOOTY!" I heard Peyton laughing outside. She would.

After my long and very valuable shower, I wrapped myself in a towel and made my way out of the stall. No one was in the room except for Garrett.

"You already done with your shower?" I asked, walking up to him.

"Yeah. I, uh, yeah," he mumbled. He wouldn't look at me.

"Why aren't you looking at me? Am I that ugly?" I said, making a pouty face.

"Of course you're not ugly," he replied, finally looking at me. "You're beautiful. And almost naked. That's why."

"Garrett, you saw my vag. This is nothing compared to that."

A small smile formed on his face. "I guess you're right." That smile went away when something caught his attention behind me. I turned my head around to see Pat coming out of his stall. He was staring at us. And just then, it happened.

My towel fell from my body. Exposing all of me. My rear to Pat, and my front to Garrett. Pat ran away like a pansy, Garrett's just staring at me, and I just stood there.

"What? A naked party! Fuck yeah!" someone from behind us yelled. I turned my naked self around to see Jobe standing there with a towel wrapped around his lower region. But he quickly took the towel off of him and started running around, swinging the towel around above his head. I couldn't stop watching and laughing. It was funny when guys ran around naked because their junk just flops around everywhere.

After that episode, I put some clothes on and I made my way to inside the venue. The merch tables were set up in a room just outside of the room with the stage, but you couldn't see the stage from the tables. Fuck. I went back outside so I could retrieve the things so I could set up the table. Peyton wasn't around, of course. Oh well. I started grabbing boxes when someone walked up beside me and started grabbing things as well. It was Austin Bello, and Jonathan was behind him.

"You don't have to help, guys," I said.

"We know," Jonathan said, grabbing the rest of the things. We walked inside and set up the table and made it look all pretty. We all sat down and took a breather after it was done.

"Did you enjoy your shower?' Austin asked me.

"It was the most amazing shower ever," I replied.

"How about the party afterwards?" Jonathan said, smiling at Austin.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

"Jobe said something about a naked party?" Austin stated.

I chuckled. "Yeah, he ran around with his junk flopping all over the place."

"He also described how you looked naked. Every detail," Jonathan said, grinning.

"Oh. Well. Shit," I sigh.

"Austin, Jonathan, we need to get our shit off the bus. Come on," Kent yelled at them through the room next to us. They stood up and left, leaving me by myself. Sweet. Garrett soon came in, though, and sat down beside me.

"So…uh, Josh is-"

"Yeah, I know," I said, cutting him off.

"You know what's funny?" he asked, looking at me in the eyes. His eyes were so pretty.

"Your face?" I joked. He playfully hit my arm.

"Not my face. It's funny that a few nights ago, you said I'd never see your junk again, but look what happened!" He started laughing, which was adorable, and it made me smile.

"Well, at least it wasn't in front of a crowd of preteens this time," I answered, shrugging.

"That is a good point. There were so many virgin eyes out there, JuJu!" The expression on his face was like a fake shocked face.

"It's not like I chose to show my ass to everyone," I mumbled, giving him the stink eye. "It was yours and Jared's idea. Perverts."

"We didn't know you'd be pantyless, though," he defended.

"Okay, enough about my naked body," I said, looking at the floor, smiling. I smiled a lot around Garrett. It was like he put a spell on me or something.

"Alright. Well, your birthday is tomorrow," he stated.

I nodded. "This is true."

"What're you going to do?"

"Well, where are we going to be?" I asked him. He didn't answer me for the first few seconds; he just looked at the ground. I waved my hand in front of his face. "Did you hear me?"

"Uh, yeah," he murmured, still looking at the ground.

"Well…where are we going tomorrow?" I asked again.

He let out a huge sigh, and then answered. "Fairfax."

I felt a knot forming in my throat. "Virginia?"

He looked at me and nodded. I never ever thought I would be going back to Fairfax. Not that soon, anyways. I didn't want to be close to my mother. Or Cameron.

"Well," Garrett spoke up, "we have an off day the next day. We were just going to spend the night at a hotel or something, but we can go to another city or something…"

"No, no, it's okay. Hopefully I just won't see … people..." I said, trailing off. We were quiet for a while when Kennedy came in, bearing two drinks in his hands. He handed one to me.

"What is this?" I asked him, looking into the cup.

"Alcohol. There was only a little left on the bus, so I poured some for me and Peyton," he answered.

"Hey Kenny?" I said.

"Yes?"

"I'm Julia." Garrett chuckled and Kennedy just sighed.

"Well, when I was searching for Peyton, I saw she was already at the bar, so I thought I'd give it to you."

I took a sip of the drink. "Tisk tisk, Kenny. Giving alcohol to minors."

"How about a 'thank you'?" he said.

"Thank you oh wonderful Kennedy! You are my master and savior!" I exclaimed, bowing down to him while still in my seat.

"That's what I thought," he said, walking out the door. I set the drink down on the table. It tasted weird.

"So," Garrett chimed in, "I have something for you already. For your birthday."

"Really? What is it!" I said to him, excited.

"I can't tell you! What kind of person would I be?"

"The best person ever?"

He let out a laugh. "You can wait until tomorrow."

"What the fuck? I mean, god damnit, what the fuck was that?" John was yelling as he entered the room. His face was red, and it looked like he was about to kill someone. I'm sure Peyton had to do with it.

"Woah, man, calm down. What is it?" Garrett asked, standing up as he walked over to us. I didn't bother looking at John. He was a dick head. I stared at Garrett while John spoke.

"Peyton! She bitches that I don't tell her about her and Halvo, and what happens? She's sucking face with Caleb at the bar! Fuck, I'm calling Halvo," he yelled as he left the room. Garrett looked back at me, shrugged, and followed John out of the room. …What the fuck.

A long time passed before I saw anyone again. Doors eventually opened and I was still sitting by myself, but I managed whenever all the girls came over to buy shirts.

"Are you the butt chick?" one girl asked me. She looked about fifteen or so. Her friends started to giggle, and I let out a little chuckle myself.

"Yeah, I suppose I am," I replied.

"Can I … get a picture with you?" she asked.

"Uh … you want a picture with me?" Why would she want a picture with me? The only reason I'm known is for being the ass girl.

"I envy you! I've been wanting to show my vagina to The Maine for two years, now!" she replied. She was serious.

"Oh. Well, uh, okay," I mumbled, standing up to the table. I grinned a really cheesy grin and she took the picture.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, leaving the table. Her friends followed behind her.

Some more girls passed through. They didn't bother making small talk; just "Can I have that in a small please? Thanks," until this girl came up.

"You're Julia, right?" she asked me. She was about sixteen or seventeen.

"That's me," I replied, pointing my thumbs at myself.

"Pat's ex-girlfriend, right?"

"How'd you find that out?" I asked her.

"I follow the Lauren chick on Tumblr. She's a huge bitch," she replied. I liked this girl.

"Can I ask what she posted?"

"It was something like, 'Pat's not with her anymore, but he's not with me, either. He hasn't even talked to me since I saw his girlfriend that day.'"

"Oh…" I mumbled. It made me feel kind of good that he wasn't with her, but I was still never going to forgive him for what he did.

"I love Pat and all," the girl started, "but you didn't deserve that. I'm totally on your team." She flashed me a smile and what she said made me smile huge.

"Do you want a shirt?" I asked her.

"Yeah, how much are they?"

"Just pick one out, don't worry about the price."

She looked at me like she just heard the voice of god or something. "Really?"

"Yeah!" I replied.

"Oh my god, okay! I'll take the blue one, please! In a medium!"

I handed her the shirt with a smile. "There you go."

"Thank you again! So much!" she yelled as she walked away. She was the last customer for the moment.

"Hello North Carolina! We are The Summer Set! Get ready to shake your ass!" I heard Brian yell from the room with the stage. I'm sure everyone was having fun watching their set while I just sat back here and guarded shirts. I heard footsteps coming beside me, and it was Kennedy, joined by Caleb and Peyton, which both looked drunk as hell.

"Julia!" she attempted to say.

"Holy Justin Richards in heaven, what did you do to them Kennedy?" I asked, helping Peyton sit down. Caleb leaned against the table and knocked some bracelets down, and some bitches decided to come over, take them, and run.

"I KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE, BITCHES," I yelled as they ran like pansy fags.

"Don't worry about it, Jules," Kennedy said to me.

"Caleb, how are you going to play?" I asked Caleb, looking over at him.

"I have been doing this for years. I play better drunk. I think," he stated. Yeah, okay.

"I'm fine, Kenny. Go get ready to play," Peyton said to him, giving him a push in the back.

"No more drinking!" he ordered, kissing her on the forehead.

"I promise!" she answered. She stood up and wobbled over to the entrance of the room with the stage, since The Maine was about to play. They played a few songs, and then this happened.

"This is the part of the set where I bring out friend Peyton up." John mumbled into the microphone. "Where are you, Peyton?" he asked. Peyton just stood there, silent.

"Peyton, come on," Kennedy said. She just stood there, not budging one bit. It was so quiet in there you could hear a pin drop.

"Peyton, seriously, come on," John demanded.

"NO!" Peyton shouted.

"You know what, fuck this. Fuck everything. I am glad things happened the way they did and I am glad that I hurt you. I hope you hurt as much as I do," he said to her. I wanted to just go up on that stage and punch him. Peyton ran as fast as her cast could take her out of there, and I quickly followed. She locked herself in a bathroom, though. I tried banging on the door for a long long time, yelling at her to open up, but she never did. I eventually left, running to find someone to help, when I bumped into Kennedy. Literally.

"Where is she?" he asked, sounding flustered.

"Bathroom, but she won't open the door," I replied. John Gomez ran up beside Kennedy.

"We're going to have to try and force the door open. Peyton, go back to the merch tent. We'll take care of it," Kennedy stated as he and John walked over to the bathroom. I did as I was told and headed back to the merch table. I stayed at the bathroom door for so long trying to get it open, FTSK had already played and the merch tents were already packed up and out of the room. Garrett soon walked up beside me and put his arm around me.

"I don't know what we're going to do, Julia," he said quietly. We started walking out of the venue. We eventually made our way on the bus, and everyone but Jared was already in their bunks.

"You can sleep in my bunk, if you want. Without me, of course," Jared said to me. I just chuckled at him.

"Thanks, JMCM. You can have your bunk, though," I replied, sitting down on the couch that was opposite of him. He stood up as soon as I sat down.

"Okay then. Goodnight you two," he said as he walked to the bunks and got in his. Garrett took a seat beside me. I looked over at him.

"What's happening to everyone, Garrett?" I asked him.

"I don't know, Julia. I really don't," he relied, putting his hand on my knee. "If it's okay, I'd like to go to sleep."

"That's fine, because I do too."

"Do you want my bunk?"

"Yes, but under one condition."

"What's that?" he asked, standing up. I stood up, too.

"I didn't bring a stuffed animal to cuddle with when I sleep, so I need a cuddle buddy."

He smiled and grabbed my hand. "I'll be your teddy bear."


	22. When I'm Gone

"Happy Birthday, Julia!" I yelled, sliding the curtain to Garrett's bunk open. We stopped at a target, to stock the bus with various juices for the epic partying that was to happen tonight. She and Garrett looked uncomfortable, all squished together, their bodies were contorted like one giant pretzel. At least their clothes were still on.

"Ugh," she grunted. I didn't sleep on the bus, which was weird, but I am glad I didn't. I was a mess last night and I was so hung over today it wasn't even funny. I was gritting my teeth through it though, taking it like a champ. This was my first hangover, and I did not like it.

"Get up, I have a surprise for you!" I smiled.

"Right now?" she asked.

"Right fucking now, Julia!" I yelled, pulling her arm. "I'll be waiting outside," I smiled. She was going to love this present. I walked off of the bus and walked over to John and Kennedy, who was holding Julia's surprise. He was in love with it already, and I was too. This present was going to be a lot of work with us being on tour and everything, but it was nothing we couldn't handle. Julia yawned and walked off of the bus, her hair still in a messy bun, still wearing her PJ's. Didn't matter, she was gorgeous no matter what.

"OH MY GOD!" she yelled, running over to Kennedy.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY," we all three yelled. There was an old couple giving away free pug puppies in the parking lot of the Target. I picked one up and fell in love with it. I knew Julia would too.

She picked up the small puppy and cuddled it in her arms. "You guys! I can't even.." she began. She kissed the top of the puppies head. Garrett walked off of the bus and smiled at the sight of Julia so happy. I loved that kid, and I thought that he was just what Julia needed right now. To her, Garrett was like my Kennedy or John Gomez. There for you for anything.

"What are you going to name her?" John asked, petting the puppies head.

"I am going to name her," she thought about it for a minute. "Daisy."

Kennedy and I walked into Target hand in hand. We were both skipping, I was just less graceful at it, having a cast on my foot and all.

"We need to make this the best birthday Julia has ever had. 21 is the only birthday that means anything past 16!" I told Kennedy as we turned down the juice aisle.

"I agree. We are buying so much alcohol. Don't worry about that." He said, grabbing different juices.

"We should have gotten a cart," I sighed when both of our arms were packed with all we could carry.

"Did someone say they needed a cart?" John Gomez shouted from inside of the cart that was being pushed by Stephen Gomez.

"Thank God," Kennedy said, dropping all of the juice he had in his arms on top of John all at once.

"THAT HURT, YOU ASS," John said, punching Kennedy.

"You are 19, aren't you a little old to be riding in a cart?" Kennedy asked.

"No way." John replied, grabbing the juices out of my hand and placing them gently in the cart.

"Later," Stephen said, taking one giant push off of the floor and riding the buggy all the way out of the aisle.

"DON'T FORGET TO GET ORANGE JUICE," I called out behind them. John gave us the thumbs up.

"So, was it awkward for you last night?" I asked Kennedy as we were strolling down the pet aisle to get Daisy the essentials she would need to last the rest of tour. It may not have been a smart idea to get a dog on tour, but we needed something to lighten the mood on the bus.

"Awkward how?" he asked me, picking up a bag of puppy chow.

"You know, riding in The Summer Set's van with me. Thank you, by the way, for always being there for me." I smiled at him.

"I wasn't going to leave you alone," he smiled back. "Uh, it was awkward. Yeah."

"Did you and Jess talk about… you know. It?" I asked.

"How were we supposed to when there were other people in the van?" he sighed. "I just don't know what to say."

"Well, start out with, 'Jess, what happened that night was or wasn't a mistake,' and just take it from there," I replied, picking up a zebra print collar and leash.

"That's just it. I don't know what I am feeling right now," he replied, looking like he was thinking about it.

"Well it's not like you have to decide right now. Just make things less awkward. There is already too much tension happening on this tour. We don't need anymore."

"This is the most fucked up tour I have been on," he nodded.

"I feel like it's all my fault. This tour would have been so much smoother if I would have stayed home. Things would be normal."

"Well, I guess things would be normal, but you would be depressed," he stated.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, you wouldn't get to see me every day." He replied, cockily.

"I would be just fine, thank you." I smiled.

"Can I ask you something, though?" he asked, tossing all of our stuff into the shopping cart as John and Stephen came zooming

"Anything,"

"If you found out yesterday that Halvo didn't dump you, and that he has been trying to get in touch with you, why haven't you called him?"

I thought about it for a minute. I knew the answer to this question, but I didn't want Kennedy to know how weak I was. After some debate, I decided to just tell him the truth.

"Because, I have screwed up. Over and over again. I don't want him to see me differently. He found out about John and I. What if he finds out that we kissed. And that Caleb and I kissed,"

"Woah, time out. You what?" he asked, laughing.

"It was to piss John off," I shrugged. He just continued to laugh.

"Then I approve," he joked.

"I just don't want him to be disappointed in me. The whole reason I thought we broke up was because of John, and here I was, on tour with him, and falling for him. It's just messed up. Halvo deserves better than me."

"There is nothing better than you, and I am sure he understands. You thought that you guys broke up."

"Kenny, we broke up not even a week ago. He's going to think that I moved on so fast and that he didn't mean anything to me. He did, though. I miss the hell out of him."

"Eric is a reasonable guy, I am sure that if you just take the time to call him and explain everything, you may be surprised as to how he will react," he stated, grabbing my hand. We started walking to the registers when we saw a problem up ahead. Kennedy dropped my hand and started running towards the security guard who had the Gomez brothers in handcuffs. What on earth did they do?

"Is there a problem?" Kennedy asked the officer.

"Nothing that concerns you," the officer barked back at Kennedy.

"Actually, it does. Why are they in handcuffs?" he asked.

"Well, this fine gentleman," John started, "told us to stop horseplaying around with the shopping cart. He threatened to kick us out. I told him that he didn't want to do that, that we were simply exploring our young side."

"You know, exploring your young side. Obviously, you are exploring your feminine side," Stephen smiled at the cop.

"Oh my god, Stephen, just shut up," Kennedy barked.

"I am taking these two hooligans to the station," the cop sighed.

"On what charges?" Kennedy asked.

"Harassing an officer," he said, grabbing both of their shoulders.

"Woah, easy big boy. I like being handled rough, but only during sex. Strip down, and then we can talk." Stephen flashed him a grin.

"Stephen, shut the fuck up!" Kennedy ordered again. "I am sorry sir, but is there any way we can just forget about this?"

"I'll let this one go," he replied unlocking John's handcuffs, "but this one," he said, grabbing Stephen's shoulder forcefully, "needs to be put in his place."

"Oh, you can put me in my place anyday, big daddy," Stephen winked at the officer.

"STEPHEN!" John, Kennedy, and I all yelled at the same time.

"You know what, just take him," Kennedy threw his hands in the air.

"You can't! We have a show tonight," John cried out.

"For the love of god, just take me NOW," Stephen, licked his lips at the officer.

"Let's just go pay, Kennedy." I sighed, pushing the shopping cart to the register and unloading it. Kennedy was watching Stephen and the cop interact, and then he got escorted out of the building. I guess that was it. Stephen was going to jail because of his h8 lyfe attitude and his smart mouth.

We walked outside and saw Julia and Garrett sitting in foldable chairs, watching H8 Lyfe getting arrested. When we were within earshot Julia shouted, "Did he really just-"

"Yup." Kennedy yelled back.

"For?" Garrett asked as we got closer.

"Being an asshole." I replied, grabbing the bags out of the cart and carrying them onto the bus. When I walked back outside everybody was still discussing Stephen getting arrested.

"Well, we can't play without Stephen!" John cried out.

"Well, I would fill in, but I don't know all of your songs, and I don't have time to learn them," Garrett shrugged.

"We are just going to have to drop out," BDales sighed. "I can't believe this. Your brother is stupid."

"I know," John shrugged. Pat was lurking a few feet and decided to join in on the conversation.

"I know a band that could probably fill in."

"Well call them. Now, we don't have time for all of this," Kennedy replied. Pat nodded and walked away, pulling out his iphone.

"I know someone who could open the show today. Play a few songs anyway," Garrett smiled.

"Who?" Julia asked.

"Well," he looked from Julia to me, and then back at Julia.

"No," she sighed.

"Oh, come on Julia!" Kennedy nudged her shoulder with his.

"Why?" she cried.

"Because, it is your birthday, and you deserve to shine." Garrett said, throwing his arm around her shoulder.

"We play around all the time at home Julie, we know a few songs." I tried to encourage her. I would be stoked to play with Julia onstage. She was pretty good at guitar.

"Well," she debated, "Okay, but Peyton, we need to practice, like now," she said, packing up her foldable chair.

"Well let's go, baby. We have a few hours before we get to the venue anyway."

"Ugh, fucking Virginia," Julia groaned, walking on the bus.

"Oh hush, Virginia is beautiful. I am jealous you got to grow up here." I told her. I really loved it here. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect.

"Oh yeah, it was a blast," she sarcastically replied.

"Grab a guitar, let's do this."

Hours of debating on which songs to play tonight, practicing, and pointless sing-a-longs with the whole band, we made it to the venue. We were all filing off of the bus and Julia and I were the last ones. She stopped before descending the stairs and stared at the building she knew all too well.

"It's weird being here," she finally spoke up, hopping down the stairs. She grabbed Daisy's leash on the way out and we started to take her for a walk.

"I know. Just don't think about it. It's not like we are going to see your mom or anybody else today. Just enjoy your birthday."

"You're right," she smiled, letting Daisy sniff around in the grass.

"I wonder what band Pat got to fill in. You don't think he would…"

"You know, I would kill him if he did," she shook her head.

"I don't think he's that dumb. I don't think that he would invite The Downtown Fiction because he knows that Cameron would murder him for what he did to you. Even though Cameron hurt you, I could see him killing Pat for that. Then Garrett would murder Cameron for what he did to you and for killing their drummer. Then Garrett would go join Stephen in the slammer. They could fight off sexual advances together."

"Oh my god, Stephen is not going to the slammer." Julia laughed. "I guess you are right."

"Damn straight, I am right!" We started walking back towards the venue when a familiar van pulled in right next to our bus. My heart stopped and my stomach was doing summersaults.

"This is about as bad as him inviting The Downtown Fiction," Julia shook her head, staring at the van. "I can't believe him."

"I don't think I can do this," I said, staring at the van as well.

"You can do this, Peyton."

"I can do this." I nodded.

"I'm going to go inside. If you need me…" she started. I just nodded, still staring at the van.

"Go get him," she said, taking off towards the venue. I started walking towards the van, as slow as I possibly could. It was like the whole world was moving in slow motion. People starting piling out of the vehicle, and finally, I saw him. He had cut his hair. He looked thinner, if that was at all possible. He looked rough, broken. He wasn't the boy I left standing at the park, anymore. He looked like a worse version of himself. It was my fault. I put him through hell. I couldn't imagine how I would feel if the tables were reversed. He stood, leaning against the van. He was facing the opposite direction, staring at The Maine's bus, shaking his head. I could imagine he felt the same way I did right now. Nick, who was driving, spotted me and smiled a sad smile. He walked around the van to grab his bag and nudged Eric with his shoulder. Eric looked at him and listened to whatever it was that Nick was telling him. Then he slowly turned his head in my direction. I stopped walking and suddenly wanted to run the rest of the way, hug him forever and tell him that everything would be okay. I couldn't do that, though. Everything may not be okay. We may not have a forever. His facial expression didn't change at all when his eyes locked with mine. He looked so tired.

He slowly pushed off the van and started to make his way towards me. I started walking again, looking at the ground the whole time. I finally looked up when he was a few feet in front of me. We both stopped walking, and neither of us knew what to say. I finally broke the silence.

"Hey," I shakily greeted him. Smooth.

"Hello," he replied.

"I didn't know that you guys were the band filling in."

"Well. We are," he replied, a little harshly. I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. "We had a day off. We played Richmond last night, so," he said, lightening his tone. I nodded. "I didn't know we were filling in until we pulled up. The guys thought it best not to tell me, because I would have said," and then he stopped.

"You would have said no," I nodded. That hurt a little bit. "I.." I started, but had no idea what to even say.

"What happened to your foot?" he asked, looking at my cast.

"Broke it taking my rage out on the bus," I shrugged. He chuckled lightly and then we were silent again. Eric finally spoke up.

"I have called you every day. Your voicemail box is full. I emailed you. What did you want me to do? Rent a plane and write your name in the sky?"

"No, I just… I left my phone in Tempe. I haven't checked my email." I replied.

"I don't really know what to say here, Peyton," he sighed, looking towards the venue.

"I don't either."

"I have so many questions; I don't know where to start," he rubbed the back of his neck, finally looking at me.

"I'll answer anything. I just don't want you to hate me anymore, I can't handle this," I tried to stay calm, but my eyes betrayed me and hot tears started rolling down my cheeks.

"I don't hate you. It's just that, I have thought about what I would say to you the next time I saw you so many times, and I never decided on which route to take. I had no warning, it was kind of pushed on me, you know?"

"Pushed on you," I nodded, repeated slowly.

"Not pushed on me, just, ugh," he started playing with the keys clipped on his belt loop.

"I thought you broke up with me," I cried out. "I thought that you broke up with me, and I was a mess for days, Eric."

"Days. You were a mess for days. You were all over John how many days after we 'broke up?'" he asked, using air quotes.

"John and I used to be friends when we were younger, and I never pieced it together. It wasn't like I just started something with him out of thin air. How did you even know about that?" I asked.

"Does it matter? Jesus, Peyton, my best friend kissed you ONSTAGE at a concert, how do you think I knew about it? My sister emailed it to me. She found it on youtube." Fuck youtube.

"I thought we broke up, Eric," I was full on crying now.

"I understand Peyton, but you wasted no time getting into bed with John," he crossed his arms.

"How dare you! You can't just show up here and accuse me of sleeping with someone, when you damn well know that I am waiting until I am in love."

He sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry, that was out of line."

"John and I may have started something, but not one day has passed where I haven't missed you."

"Whether we missed each other or not has nothing to do with this right now. I just don't know if I can forgive you for this right now. No matter how much I want to." My tears started falling faster and faster, and I wasn't holding back anymore. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw someone walking towards us.

"You have got to be kidding me," I said under my breath. Halvo turned to look in the direction that I was and looked up towards the sky. "Really God? What did I ever do to you?" he asked and then looked back at the figure stalking towards us.

"Can you just not?" I yelled at John as he was getting closer.

"No, I have to," John replied walking up to Halvo. "I was the one who pursued her. That kiss onstage, was sprung on her. I got all of your text messages, and I never told her that you guys weren't broken up. I am an asshole. Don't blame her for any of this. It was me. It was all me," John finished. What? John was sticking up for me.

"You didn't tell her? You just wanted to keep things going, starting off a relationship based on a lie?" Eric asked him. "I can't believe you, John. You are my best friend."

"I know. There's no excuse for what I did," John replied.

"The point is that we haven't even been broken up for a week, and she's over here, having the time of her fucking life on tour with fucking John O'Callaghan, the king of being everyone's fucking eye candy, while I am fucking miserable."

"If you think she's been having the time of her life Eric, you are terribly mistaken. She fought me tooth and nail, saying that she didn't want to start anything with me. She missed you that much and didn't want to believe that you guys were really over. I am a dick, we all know that. I weaseled my way in and I played the "childhood friends" card. I didn't tell her you guys weren't broken up, because I knew that she would never choose me over you."

Eric was quiet for a minute. It seemed like the longest 60 seconds of my life.

"I can't deal with this right now," he said and turned and started walking towards the venue. He said it again. For the second time, my heart broke at the sound of those 7 words. It broke all over again.

John wrapped his arms around me, and I cried into his chest. "Thank you, for sticking up for me, John." I choked out between sobs.

"He'll come around, Peyton," he tried to comfort me.

"No," I backed up so that his hands weren't on me. "He won't come around. I am so tired of crying, John. I am so tired of not being happy," I yelled at him. "I JUST WANT THINGS BACK TO THE WAY THEY WERE BEFORE EVERYTHING GOT SO FUCKED UP!" I started running towards the venue. I ran past Eric, who was still walking that way.

He called after me but I didn't want to stop, I needed Julia, and I needed her now.

"So he didn't forgive you?" she asked, releasing my hair from the curling iron. We were getting ready to go on stage, and we locked ourselves in a room to keep unwanted boys out.

"Nope," I sniffed, stuffing a Dorito in my mouth.

"I'm sorry. I know how much you miss him," she said, leaning back on the dresser.

"I just want to forget about it." I said, wiping my eyes. "No more tears, tonight."

"Nope, it is my birthday, and my best friend cannot be sad on my birthday!"

"I know, it's your day, and here I am, making it about me. I am so sorry."

"No you aren't. You have had a bad day. It's allowed."

"Oh my god, that bracelet is beautiful!" I squealed.

"I know!" she smiled, running her fingers over it.

"From Garrett?" I asked.

"Nope. From Phil. Of course it's from Garrett," she smiled.

"Aw, I love seeing you so happy," I smiled.

"And I hate seeing you so sad," she replied. She picked up the curling iron and started working on my massive amount of hair again.

"I'll be fine. Are you ready to party tonight?" I asked her.

"Fuck yes," she replied. After she was done doing my make-up, I stood up and she took the seat. I plugged in the straightener and waited for it to warm up.

"Are you nervous?" I asked her.

"Not really. If I mess up it's no big deal. If you mess up," she joked.

"Very funny."

"No, I'm not. I have been playing these songs for a while. I'm not nervous. Are you?"

"Yes." I replied. "I am singing by myself. I mean, you will be on backup, but I'm not hiding behind John's voice today. It's all me." I said, getting really scared. I would be fine, but I always over thought things.

"But your voice can stand on its own. It's beautiful," Julia smiled at me. I smiled back, picked up the straightener and attacked her hair.

Julia and I walked to the bar and sat down. We had about 30 minutes before showtime, and I wanted to be the one who bought her first legal drink.

"I'll have a screwdriver," she told the bartender. He nodded and looked at me.

"Same," I told him.

"Alright, got some id's lady?" he asked. Julia smiled and whipped hers out so fast. He looked at it and smiled at her. "Happy birthday, beautiful!"

"Why, thank you," she replied, winking at him. He gave us our drinks and we both drank them pretty fast.

A few minutes later Kennedy and Garrett came to the bar. "You girl's ready?" Kennedy asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I answered.

"I am so ready," Julia said, jumping up. Garrett wrapped his arms around her waist and started to lead her towards the stage. Kennedy seized the opportunity to discuss something.

"So, I don't know if you know, but Eric is here," he told me. No, really?

"I know." I nodded.

"Did you explain to him what happened?" he asked.

"Yup." I replied.

"And?" he asked.

"Let's just say that I am going to have to work hard to get him to trust me again."

The lights dimmed, and I looked over at Julia. She was so pumped, and I was so nervous. What a combination. I turned around to face Kennedy, and looked at him.

"I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this." I kept repeating over and over again.

"You can do this. And you will do great. You look amazing," he smiled. John Gomez walked over and wrapped his arms around me.

"Knock 'em dead, kid," he said, kissing my cheek. I smiled. I loved my friends. I looked over at Julia who was getting words of encouragement from Jared and Garrett. She looked back at me and nodded. Garrett handed her an acoustic guitar. It was time to roll.

We walked on stage and the crowd cheered. She walked to her microphone and I walked to mine. I wasn't good at the talking thing, so I let Julia take it.

"What's up, Virginia?" she yelled. The crowd screamed back.

"I'm sure you know who that is," she said, pointing to me. "But if you don't, her name is Peyton, and my name is Julia!" They screamed again.

"We're going to cover a few songs, if you guys don't mine. Each of these songs are special to us in one way or another. Feel free to sing along with us," I said into the microphone, and just like that my stage fright was gone.

"This first song is a song that is special to both of us. It's by this guy, maybe you've heard of him. His name is Ryan. Ryan Adams," Julia spoke up. The crowd started cheering. We didn't tell the guys which songs we were playing and I looked to the side of stage to see Garrett's reaction. He was bouncing up and down like a little school girl. I laughed and directed my attention to the crowd.

"This song is called, 'This House Is Not For Sale'" I informed the crowd and then Julia started playing the opening chords flawlessly. I sang with as much soul as I could muster. My voice would never live up to Ryan Adams' voice, but I did the best I could. Julia joined in on some parts, and we sounded pretty good together, I wasn't going to lie. This was my favorite song by Ryan Adams' and it seemed as though the crowd was enjoying it. A lot of people were singing along and it made me feel confident in picking this song. The song ended and the crowd applauded and cheered. I looked over at Julia to introduce the next song, since it was her pick.

"This next song, holds a very special place in my heart. I really hope you guys enjoy it," she smiled at the crowd. I smiled at her. She loved every minute of this. She belonged on a stage. The song was "A Lack of Color," by Death Cab for Cutie. It was a song that I enjoyed singing, because it had a lot of meaning to it. It seems like we were doing a good job picking songs because most of the crowd was singing along with us again. I looked over to the bar and John Ohh was sitting there, watching us. It was closed off, so nobody was mobbing him. He was singing along. I knew how much he loved Death Cab. Ever since he stuck up for me with Eric, I couldn't be mad at him anymore. I smiled at him and he smiled back. The song came to a close and the crowd cheered again. I think I liked singing with Julia more than I liked singing with The Maine.

I looked over and Julia and she looked at me. The next song was going to be a fun song.

"So Julia," I started.

"Yes, Peyton?" she answered, smiling, knowing what I was up to.

"I don't know if these people know about the substitution in the line-up tonight." The crowd started talking, trying to guess what was going on.

"Well, I don't know if you guys saw John Gomez's tweet, but Stephen was arrested today," I continued.

"He was. For being an ass to a cop," Julia laughed.

"True facts," I nodded when the crowd started yelling a bunch of things.

"Anyways," I spoke up, "Our good friends of A Rocket to the Moon were nice enough to fill in." The room went crazy.

"I think they like A Rocket to the Moon," Julia joked.

"Is there a Justin Richards in the building?" I asked very loudly into the microphone. I looked over to Kennedy and he smiled. Justin ran up and stood next to him. I waved at him.

"This next song is a song by a band called Brighten," Julia spoke up, tuning her guitar again. "We'd like to ask our friend Justin if he would like to join us onstage," she added, looking over at him too. He grabbed a guitar and ran onto the stage. He ran over to Julia and gave her a hug and then walked over to me and gave me a hug as well. We hadn't seen him since our party.

"What song are we singing?" he asked me, into my ear.

"This song is called 'Easy To Fall In Love,'" Julia spoke up, knowing what he was asking me. Justin counted us off and they began to play.

I scooted my mic stand over and pushed my stool back, so that Justin and I could share the mic. All three of us sang the song, and had a blast doing so. Every time I heard this song, it made my ass shake, and I couldn't help it. I was dancing and singing and having the time of my life, singing with one of my idols. How many people could say that they had done that? Well, Julia and I could now cross that off of our list of things to do. As soon as the song was over Justin started applauding Julia and I and we both blushed. I hope he didn't think we butchered his song or something, I would die. I don't think we did, because the smile on his face was so big, he looked like he had a fun time singing with us. The crowd started clapping and cheering. Justin waved at them and then exited the stage.

We had two songs left. The next song was going to be hard for me to sing, but I talked to Julia in the dressing room about a change in the set list and she was up for it. I looked over at her and she smiled. She knew why I had to do this. I felt like this was my only hope. I took a deep breath and searched the room for a familiar face. I had no idea if he was in here, but I hoped he was, and I hoped he would hear this.

"This next song," I said, reaching for my water bottle, "is a song that is so special to me, for so many reasons." I took a sip of water. My mouth was so dry from singing so much. I didn't know how lead singers did this every night. "I am dedicating this song to someone, and he knows who he is. If he is listening," I stopped to set my bottle down and to take another deep breath, "I wanted to tell him that I am sorry, and that I never meant to hurt him." I looked over to Julia and she smiled at me. I hoped this worked.

"I've been jumping from the tops of buildings," I began singing as Julia played along. I closed my eyes and put as much heart into the song as I could. "My Beautiful Rescue" by This Providence was the song Eric and I had our first kiss to. It was our song. When I opened my eyes I scanned the crowd, and almost every single one of them was singing along. I smiled and scanned the rest of the venue. I saw Eric, leaning against the back wall, watching my every move. I saw something on his face that wasn't there earlier. I saw an emotion. It wasn't happiness, it wasn't sadness. It was somewhere in between. I kept my eyes on him and kept singing, letting the song speak for me. This was my last hope of getting him to know how much he meant to me. Come tomorrow, he would be heading to a different state, and I wouldn't see him again until we were both back in Arizona. If he even agreed to see me then.

"I've been dancing on the tops of buildings, with you," we closed the song and my eyes were still locked with his. He halfway smiled and clapped his hands along with the rest of the crowd.

"Thank you guys, so much," Julia said. "So, are you guys stoked to see A Rocket to the Moon?" she asked. They cheered and clapped. There were a few screams. "How about The Maine?" she asked them, and the screams and cheers were even louder. "How about a band called, FOREVER THE SICKEST KIDS," she yelled, and the crowd was so loud, it hurt my ears. When I looked back at the wall, Eric was gone. I looked over to Julia and got really excited. It was our last song, and we wanted to bring someone out to help us again.

"Nicholas Bernard Santino, come on down," I spoke into my microphone. It took him a second to get onstage, but he did, and he was so excited. He grabbed and extra mic and turned it on.

"It's my turn?" he asked. Julia stood up and pushed her guitar to her back and gave Nick a hug. I stood up and gave him one too. We hadn't had a chance to say hi to anyone in A Rocket to the Moon. Well, except for Eric.

"Anyone know what heritage Nicholas comes from?" I asked the crowd. Almost everyone shouted out "Italian."

"Oh dear god, no," Nick laughed.

"It's so hot in here. Does anyone need some, 'Italian Ice?'" Julia asked, and I laughed at her cheesiness.

"Take it away Nicholas," I told him. He shook his head and then smiled and nodded.

"My flow, my flow, it knocks bitches out like Nyquil, no doubt," he started. Julia and I joined in and rapped the whole song without missing a beat. This was one of the things in my life I would remember, forever. I don't think I could top how incredibly amazing I felt right now. After we finished the song, Julia and I waved goodbye to the crowd and we exited the stage. Nick gave us both hugs again and then he ran to go get ready to play. Kennedy hugged me so hard that I felt like he was going to break me.

"You guys were amazing," he told me. I smiled. It was nice to hear. I looked over at Garrett, who had Julia in a tight hug.

"Thank you, Garrett," I told him.

"For what?" he asked, not letting go of Julia.

"For letting us do this. I will never be able to top how incredible that was."

"You guys rocked so hard," he replied, "I am glad you guys said yes. I didn't think you would," he chuckled.

"You guys legit got me hard," Jared spoke up, giving us both high fives. I laughed and saw John and Pat coming towards.

"Oh my god," John said. "You guys need to start a band."

"No way. Bands have too many issues. I love Julia, and if we were in a band together, that might change." They all laughed.

"We may have a lot of band issues, but I would kill for any one of these guys, any day." Kennedy said. "Even John," he chuckled. John laughed.

"Are we cool?" John asked Kennedy.

"Yeah, we're cool," Kennedy replied, giving John a knuckle bump. We chatted until the lights dimmed, and I gave everyone a hug for good luck, even Pat. Julia and I stood side stage watching. Then a thought occurred to me.

"Julie?" I asked.

"Hm?"

"Who's doing merch?" I asked. She chuckled.

"Phileroo," she replied.

"Oh god, I bet he wants to kill himself."

"So what? I haven't gotten to see my boys play really all tour, and I am not ruining my birthday selling merch."

"True dat," I nodded.

"So what did you guys think of Peyton and Julia?" Garrett asked the crowd and the cheered. That really made us feel special.

"Well, what do you say we bring them both out to help us with this next song?" Jared joined in. Wasn't expecting that. We both walked onstage and waved at the crowd again. Jared pulled up a stool and told Julia to sit down. She smiled, because she knew what this meant.

"It's a really easy song, and it goes a little something like this." Garrett started. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Julia, Happy Birthday to you!"

Everyone clapped as she blew out the candle of the cupcake Jonathan walked onstage with. He took the candle out and then smushed it into her face. She grabbed the cupcake and then threw it at his retreating form, laughing the whole time.

"Oh yummy!" Garrett and Jared seized the opportunity to lick the icing off of her face.

"Oh gross, guys no!" she screamed. I threw her a towel and she wiped the rest of the icing off. Amazingly, it didn't ruin her make-up.

"Really though," John started talking again. "We wanted them to help us out with this song." A tech ran out and gave each of us a microphone. Julia was in heaven again, standing between Jared and Garrett. I stood between John and Kennedy, ready for whatever song it was. Jared and Kennedy started playing the opening chords and I got really excited, because it was one of my favorite songs.

"Got caught, running up a tab, couldn't drive home so I had to share a cab," John started and then Julia and I joined in where we felt it was necessary. Little did I understand at that point one very important thing about that song, but we will get to that later.

As soon as we walked offstage, someone was waiting for me. My stomach did that weird flippy thing it always did when I saw him.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked me, handing a cup. I nodded and took it, taking a sip. Jager and Red Bull, thank god. I looked over at Julia who waited until Halvo turned around to start making humping motions and very sexual hand gestures. I flipped her off and followed after Eric.

"I didn't know you could sing like that," Eric broke the silence as we walked to a dock nearby and sat down. The weather was perfect for a summer night, and the water felt warm as I kicked my shoe off and stuck my one foot in. "I mean, I've heard you sing in the car, but you were always so quiet. If I had your voice I would sing at the top of my lungs every minute of every day."

"I don't really like singing in front of people," I answered, taking a sip of my drink.

"Could have fooled me, you looked like you belonged up there. You both did. Since when does Julia play the guitar?" he asked.

"Since before I knew her. I think Cameron taught her way back in the day."

"You played our song," he said after a moment of hesitation. I looked over at him.

"Yes, I did."

"It gave me goose bumps. Nobody has ever really dedicated a song to me."

"It wasn't for you," I joked. "It was for Jared."

"Ha Ha," he smiled. "Whoever it was for, I hope he knows how lucky he is that you sang it for him." I didn't know what to say to that so I didn't say anything. We sat there in comfortable silence for a while until we both ran out of alcohol. I stood up.

"Don't move," I ordered him. I slipped one of his flip flops on and started walking towards the bus. Nobody was on there since FTSK were still playing, but Jonathan left Daisy on there. I smiled and picked her up, and grabbed a bottle of jager and a pack of Red Bulls out of the fridge. I walked back to the dock, and sat Daisy in Eric's lap and then sat down and grabbed his cup.

"Holy shit," he said, picking Daisy up and playing with her. "Aren't you the most beautiful girl in the world," he said in a baby voice. I laughed. I knew how much he loved dogs. We tied Daisy's leash to the dock and let her play in the grass. We finished the whole brand new bottle of jager within thirty minutes. It would be time to go back soon so that we could start Julia's birthday bash, but I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by. Eric was leaving tomorrow, and so was I. In separate directions. If I was going to fix this, it was now or never.

"Peyton?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"Am I as attractive as John?" he asked me. We drank that bottle way to fast because we were both drunk already.

"Honestly," I started. His face fell. He thought I was going to say no. "I think you are more attractive than John." I answered him, truthfully.

"Am I a better kisser?" he asked. I thought about it for a second and then I smiled and looked at him.

"I don't remember. You're going to have to show me again so that I can judge." How clever was I? He sat his cup down and looked over at me.

"Do you think I was born yesterday?" he asked and I chuckled.

"No, but it was worth a shot," I answered.

"If I kissed you, then that would be it. I would want to forget about everything and just pretend like nothing ever happened. But something did happen, and we need to talk about it," he sighed.

"I know," I nodded.

So we did, the whole way back to the venue. It was a short walk, so we didn't talk about it that long, but from the look of things, Eric wasn't going to forgive me very easily.

That was okay, I liked a good challenge.

"Meet you at the hotel?" I asked when we reached the bus. Eric crouched down to pet Daisy one last time.

"Yeah, meet you guys there," he replied as Kennedy stepped off of the bus.

"Bring your swimsuit!" I yelled after him. He nodded. I picked up Daisy and followed Kennedy back onto the bus.

"So?" he asked.

"So?"

"Does he trust you yet?"

"Not at all," I sighed. I handed Kennedy my empty cup. "Can you make me a drink?" I asked him. He turned around and stared pouring something.

"Where's Julia?" I asked looking around the empty bus.

"On her way to the hotel. She already came and got her swimsuit and clothes," he replied, handing me my cup.

"Who did she ride with?" I asked, suspiciously.

"Eric," he replied.

"But Eric was just here." I asked confused.

"Not that Eric." Kennedy raised his eyebrows.

"Jones? Eric Jones?" I asked. He nodded. "David?"

"Him too."

"Please let that be it." I demanded.

"Well…"

"You have got to be kidding me!" I yelled. Daisy got scared and ran underneath the table.

"She's a big girl, Peyton. She's 21. She knows what she's doing."

"What about Garrett?" I asked.

"Oh, he rode with them," Kennedy smiled.

"No way!" I smiled. I loved that kid.

"Grab your swimsuit and everything you need, I'm going to start loading all of this alcohol into The Summer Set's van. We are not taking the bus," he said, grabbing the bags of juices and alcohol. I ran to go find my swimsuit. I was sure I packed it. I strew my clothes all over Kennedy's bunk until I found the black two piece. I ran into the bathroom and stripped down so that I could throw it on. I ran back to Kennedy's bunk to find something to throw on over it. I found a pair of shorts and stole one of Kennedy's flannel shirts.

"Come on, baby," I cooed to Daisy to try to get her out from under the table. She wouldn't come, so I grabbed a treat to lure her out. Worked like magic. I grabbed her leash and bolted for the door. I was so ready to party.

"Cannonball!" Jared shouted as he made a big splash in the pool. We weren't supposed to have parties here, but Jobe flirted with the receptionist and she told us she would turn the other cheek, just for tonight. The pool was indoors and it was huge. Every single person we were on tour with was here, and I was so glad that this was how Julia's 21st birthday was. It was so much better than mine. Julia and I just stayed at home and watched tv. The alcohol was nicely packed inside of coolers filled with ice. There were plenty of solo cups to go around, and plenty of tipsy people already walking around. It was an indoor pool, so we wouldn't distract a lot of people with our music or our noise. I unhooked Daisy's leash and she ran straight to Halvo. What was it with that boy and dogs? I peeled off Kennedy's flannel shirt and I felt Eric's eyes on me. I don't even know why I bothered wearing a swimsuit, considering I had a cast on and would not be able to swim, but oh well. I left the shorts on and walked over to Halvo, who was sitting in a chair playing with Daisy. He was wearing those orange and blue shorts that I loved, no matter how dorky they were.

"Hey," he smiled at me, and nodded towards the empty chair next to mine.

"Hey," I replied sitting down and looking around the room. Everyone was having a great time. "Not going to swim?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I will. Just not right now. Don't want to rub it in your face that I can swim and you can't," he chuckled.

Eric and I were finally making some progress. It took a few hours, MANY DRINKS, some innocent flirting, maybe a little touching, but things finally almost felt normal again. He pulled me onto his lap and rubbed my back as I was talking to Caleb and Kennedy.

"Kennnedddyyyy," I whined. He cringed.

"Yes?" he slurred.

"Can I have another drink? Mine seems to have a hole in it," I said, turning it over to show that it was empty.

"How many have you two had?" Caleb asked Eric and I. We both shrugged. I lost count. "You can really throw them back, can't you?" he asked me. I laughed.

"Just don't make out with me this time," he chuckled and walked away. Eric's hands froze on my back and then he dropped them.

"You and Caleb?" he asked, so softly. I would have rather he yelled at me than that. That meant that he was hurt. Again. I was the one who hurt him, again.

"It wasn't like that," I tried to explain. I was sure Eric thought I was a whore, but I wasn't. He lightly shoved me off of his lap and stood up.

"Anyone else?" he asked. Just then Kennedy walked up and I looked over at him. Might as well be truthful. I nodded towards Kennedy and wrapped my arms around my body, suddenly uncomfortable.

"You too?" he asked Kennedy. Kennedy nodded and looked over at me.

Tears were already forming in my eyes, and I couldn't gather the courage to look at Eric again.

"Is there anyone you haven't fooled around with?" he asked me, looking around the room. I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Just then I heard a bunch of yelling, "watch out," and "move." The next thing I knew, Kyle burns was flying through the air, and Caleb was trying to push me out of the way, but I was too close to the edge. Oh, my life.

After Kennedy and John fished me out, Eric took off. I don't know where he went, but it may be the last time I spoke to him for a while. He probably hates me.

"Your cast," John Gomez said, as he sat down next to me. It was peeling off layer by layer.

"Can you just help me get it off?" I sniffed, "I'll go to the doctor's tomorrow." John nodded and eventually got the cast off. I thought it would be all "teen wolf," and hairy, but to my amazement, it was just as smooth as the rest of my leg. Praise Justin!

"Are you okay?" Julia asked me, sitting down next to me.

"Yes. No. I don't know." I replied, wiping my eyes. She wrapped her arms around me and comforted me for a little bit. Until John O'Callaghan came over and took her place.

"I am sorry it didn't work out with Eric like you hoped." I sat up and glared at him. I grabbed a key from the table and grabbed his hand. As soon as we stepped out of the room I let him have it.

"This is all your fault!" I yelled.

"What?"

"If it wasn't for you, Eric and I would be fine!"

"Woah, you kissing Caleb was NOT my fault," he snapped back.

"Yes it was! I did it to get back at you for being such a fucking asshole!"

"You can't blame that on me," he shook his head. "Grow up and take responsibility for your actions!" he yelled back.

"How dare you!" I yelled ever louder. I started walking towards the elevator and pushed the button. I was so done with this party.

"You are so busy blaming me, that you don't see that it was just as much your fault!" he yelled in the lobby. It echoed.

"Oh, it was MY fault that you kissed me and then TEXTED my boyfriend to tell him about it? That was my fault? It was MY fault when you didn't tell me about the text messages Eric sent you? You are right John, it was all my fucking fault!" I screamed, stepping onto the elevator. To my dismay, he followed me.

"Ugh, John, just go away," I cried, and sank to the floor.

"No. I am not going until you agree that it wasn't all my fault."

"I CAN'T DO THAT BECAUSE THAT'S NOT TRUE," I yelled, standing back up and pushing him against the wall, really hard. I brought my hand back to punch him, because that was what I wanted to do more than anything right now. My arm was in motion, when he caught it, so I swung the other. He caught that one too. He pushed me against the opposite wall and glared at me. We were both out of breath and both really wet. His lips attacked mine with more urgency than ever before. He let go of my arms and pushed me even harder against the wall. I threaded my hands in his hair. As soon as the elevator stopped on our floor, we shot out of the elevator, hitting the wall directly across from it, never breaking contact. His hands were already unbuttoning my shorts and my hands were unbuttoning his overshirt. We slammed into the door, and he pressed me up against it, lifting me up, as he inserted the key into the slot. He busted the door open and it shut behind us. Fist fights turn into sex, but we all know what comes next.


	23. Girls Do What They Want

"Hey, hey Julia, wake up," Garrett whispered as he continuously poked my nose. I swatted at his hand.

"I'm up, what is it?" I mumbled. I slept really well, but I still wasn't a morning person, no matter the amount of sleep.

"I just wanted to be the first to tell you happy birthday," he said, rubbing the side of my face with his thumb. We were both still lying down, facing each other.

"It's just a birthday, it's nothing special."

"Excuse me?" he started. "It's another year you're alive! And, it's your 21st birthday. That means…"

"Happy Birthday, Julia!" Peyton yelled, opening the curtain.

"Ugh," I grunted.

"Get up, I have a surprise for you!" she said, smiling.

"Right now?" I asked.

"Right fucking now, Julia!" she screamed, pulling at my arm. "I'll be waiting outside." I sighed as she walked off.

"Come on, get on up and out. I want to see what this surprise is," Garrett said. I hobbled out of the bunk and made my way straight out of the bus. I didn't care that I was still in my PJs or anything. It was my birthday, I didn't give a fuck. I looked at Peyton, who was next to John Gomez, who was next to Kennedy, who was holding…

"OH MY GOD!" I yelled, running over to Kennedy.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY," they all yelled. Kennedy was holding a pug puppy. I loved pugs.

"What are you going to name her?" John asked, petting the puppies head.

"I am going to name her," I stopped to think. Then I got it. "Daisy."

John, Kennedy, and Peyton went inside the Target that we were stopped at, and Garrett and I went back on the bus with Daisy. I changed into some normal clothes real fast, and then joined Garrett, who was sitting on the couch in the front room. We were watching Daisy, who was running around and exploring her new home. Eventually, Jared climbed out of his bunk and joined us.

"Uh, what is that?" he asked us. Duh.

"Jared, this is a dog," Garrett answered. Double duh.

"Really, now? Where did it come from?" He knelt to the ground to pet the puppy, who was chewing on Garrett's shoelace.

"Kennedy, Peyton, and John Go got it for me," I said to him. Daisy stopped chewing on Garrett's shoelace and went for Jared's finger.

"Why? What's the occasion?" Jared asked while he wiggled his finger in front of Daisy. She kept biting for it, but missed every time.

"Jared!" Garrett yelled at him. Jared just laughed.

"I'm kidding! Happy birthday Julia," Jared said to me with a smile on his face.

"Thanks buddy."

"Jared, do you mind looking over Daisy for a few minutes? I'd like to talk to Julia outside," Garrett asked, looking at Jared. He nodded, and I walked outside of the bus. Garrett followed behind me, holding two foldable chairs. He unfolded them and sat in one. I sat in the other.

"So, what is it?" I asked him.

"I wanted to give you your gift," he replied, putting his hand in his pocket. "It's definitely not going to beat Peyton's, but maybe you'll like it."

"Don't say that! I'm sure it's awesome no matter what it is," I replied, watching him feel around his pocket. He finally pulled out what he was looking for.

"Garrett, that's...beautiful," I replied as he held it up for me to look at. It was a beautiful silver bracelet with a heart charm.

"It's not amazing, but it has a lot of meaning," he began as he started to put it on my wrist. "No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you."

"Garrett, you're amazing," I said to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, and he put his head on mine. We were silent for a while until Garrett spoke up.

"Hey Julia?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think your life would be like if you didn't ever meet Peyton?" he asked me. I wonder what made him think that.

"I don't know. I never really thought about it," I answered. "What do you think your life would be like if we never met?"

"Wow," he started. "I don't even want to think about that."

"Why not?"

He lifted his head off of mine, and I took my head off his shoulder to look at him. "Well, Julia, you make me really happy. If you weren't around, I'd probably be miserable all the time."

"Oh come on. I'm sure you'd still be the amazing guy I know today."

"But that's just it, you wouldn't know me. So I wouldn't be so amazing," he said with a chuckled. "I'm glad you're here, and I don't want to think about life without you." I put my head back on his shoulder, and he put his head back on mine, but he quickly brought it back up. Something caught his attention near the front of Target.

"Is that Stephen?" he asked. I lifted my head up and looked to where he was.

"Oh my god," I murmured. Stephen Gomez was being escorted out of Target by a police officer. He was shortly put in his police car, and Kennedy, Peyton, and John Gomez walked out of Target.

I shouted over to them. "Did he really just-"

"Yup." Kennedy yelled back.

"For?" Garrett asked as they were closer.

"Being an asshole." Peyton replied. She grabbed the stuff out of her cart and went inside the bus.

"So what now?" Garrett asked out loud.

"Do we cancel the show, or -" I started, but Kennedy soon cut me off.

"No! No, no, never." Peyton came back out of the bus and stood beside Kennedy.

"Well, we can't play without Stephen!" John cried out.

"Well, I would fill in, but I don't know all of your songs, and I don't have time to learn them," Garrett shrugged.

"We are just going to have to drop out," BDales sighed. "I can't believe this. Your brother is stupid."

"I know," John shrugged. Then, Mr. Douchey McDouche Face came over.

"I know a band that could probably fill in," Pat said.

"Well call them. Now, we don't have time for all of this," Kennedy replied. Pat nodded and walked away, pulling out his iPhone.

"I know someone who could open the show today. Play a few songs anyway," Garrett smiled.

"Who?" I asked.

"Well," he started. He look at me, then Peyton, then back to me.

"No," I sighed.

"Oh, come on Julia!" Kennedy nudged my shoulder with his.

"Why?"

"Because, it is your birthday, and you deserve to shine." Garrett said, throwing his arm around me.

"We play around all the time at home Julie, we know a few songs." Peyton started.

"Well," I debated. I didn't really want to play on such short notice, but I know it would mean a lot to a lot of people if Peyton and I did this. "Okay, but Peyton, we need to practice, like now." I stood up and folded up my chair.

"Well let's go, baby. We have a few hours before we get to the venue anyway."

"Ugh, fucking Virginia," I groaned, walking on the bus.

"Oh hush, Virginia is beautiful. I am jealous you got to grow up here," she said to me.

"Oh yeah, it was a blast," I replied sarcastically.

"Grab a guitar, let's do this."

After hours of discussing which songs to play, practicing, and good sing-a-longs, we made it to the venue…a venue I've been to many times in the past. I went to my first show here with Cameron and David. I'm sure a lot of old memories were going to come back to me.

We were all filling of the bus, and Peyton and I were the last to leave. I stopped right before descending the stairs.

"It's weird being here," I said to her. I picked up the leash for Daisy and put it on her. We both got off the bus.

"I know. Just don't think about it. It's not like we are going to see your mom or anybody else today. Just enjoy your birthday," Peyton stated.

"You're right," I smiled, watch Daisy sniff around the grass.

"I wonder what band Pat got to fill in. You don't think he would…" Peyton stopped her sentence.

"You know, I would kill him if he did," I replied, shaking my head.

"I don't think he's that dumb. I don't think that he would invite The Downtown Fiction because he knows that Cameron would murder him for what he did to you. Even though Cameron hurt you, I could see him killing Pat for that. Then Garrett would murder Cameron for what he did to you and for killing their drummer. Then Garrett would go join Stephen in the slammer. They could fight off sexual advances together."

"Oh my god, Stephen is not going to the slammer." I laughed. "I guess you are right."

"Damn straight, I am right!" We were making our way to the venue when we saw a van pull up. It was a van we both knew all too well.

"This is about as bad as him inviting The Downtown Fiction." I shook my head, then just stared at the bus. "I can't believe him."

"I don't think I can do this," Peyton said quietly, also staring.

"You can do this, Peyton."

"I can do this," she nodded.

"I'm going to go inside. If you need me…" I started. She just nodded again, still looking at the van.

"Go get him," I said to her, walking back to the venue. I regret walking away from her, but there were some unsolved things she needed to take care of.

I let Daisy take care of her business before I went inside. When I entered the venue, all the boys in FTSK were lined up. They were wearing shirts that spelled out "Ha – pp – y - B – Day – Julia!"

"Thanks guys," I said to them, and then I busted out laughing. "Kent, are you aware that your shirt just says "PP" on it?"

"I told you someone would say something about it," he mumbled, walking off.

A few minutes passed, and it was just Jonathan and I in this room, sitting on the floor, playing with Daisy. He had an old golf ball, and we were rolling it back and forth while Daisy wobbled around chasing it.

"She's the cutest thing in the world," Jonathan said.

"Isn't she?" I agreed. Daisy stopped going after the ball, crawled into Jonathan's lap, and laid down.

"Kennedy told us that you and Peyton were performing tonight," he said while petting Daisy.

"Yeah. Peyton's been up on stage before and sang. I mean, I've played in front of people before, but nothing like this," I stated.

"You will do fantastic. I mean, sure, this is a huge leap, but you will do great. The guys wouldn't have asked you to do it if they didn't think you could do it."

"I guess you're right," I said, I looked down at Daisy, who had already fallen asleep. I looked back up at Jonathan. "Will you do me a favor?"

"What's that?" he asked.

"Will you look after Daisy until I get off stage tonight? Peyton and Kennedy bought a lot of stuff for her and it is on our bus, if you want to hang in there."

He lightly picked her up and held her in his arms, and then stood up. "I'll gladly look after her."

He walked off and I made my way to the stage. This room was all too familiar to me. I've watched a million and two bands perform on this stage, and now I was about to go on it. Never would I have thought that this would happen. I suddenly felt a tug on my arm. I turned around to see Peyton, who was crying. I didn't even get a chance to ask what was wrong. She just pulled me into a dressing room, and locked the door behind her.

"So he didn't forgive you?" I asked her. She told me everything that happened to her after I left while I was curling her hair, getting ready for the show that night.

"Nope," she sniffed, crunching down on a delicious Dorito.

"I'm sorry. I know how much you miss him," I said to her, setting down the iron and leaning back onto a dresser.

"I just want to forget about it." she stated, wiping her eyes. "No more tears, tonight."

"Nope, it is my birthday, and my best friend cannot be sad on my birthday!"

"I know, it's your day, and here I am, making it about me. I am so sorry."

"No you aren't. You have had a bad day. It's allowed."

"Oh my god, that bracelet is beautiful!" she squeaked, quickly changing the subject and her mood.

"I know!" I said, smiling, while running my fingers over it.

"From Garrett?" she asked.

"Nope. From Phil. Of course it's from Garrett."

"Aw, I love seeing you so happy," she smiled.

"And I hate seeing you so sad," I replied. I retrieved the iron and started working on Peyton's hair again.

"I'll be fine. Are you ready to party tonight?" she asked me.

"Fuck yes," I replied without hesitation. I soon finished her hair and make-up, then I was in the hot seat.

"Are you nervous?" she asked me.

"Not really. If I mess up it's no big deal. If you mess up," I said, joking.

"Very funny."

"No, I'm not. I have been playing these songs for a while. I'm not nervous. Are you?"

"Yes." she replied. "I am singing by myself. I mean, you will be on backup, but I'm not hiding behind John's voice today. It's all me."

"But your voice can stand on its own. It's beautiful," I said, smiling at her. She picked up a straightening iron and started to work on my hair.

We finished getting ready after awhile, and then headed to the bar. It wasn't that long until show time, and Peyton suggested that she buy my first legal drink. I didn't see a reason to say no to that.

"I'll have a screwdriver," I said to the bar tender.

"Same," Peyton said.

"Alright, got some id's lady?" he asked us. I took out mine really fast, not meaning to. I was just excited to finally be able to drink legally.

The bar tender looked at my id and said, "Happy birthday, beautiful!"

"Why, thank you," I replied, winking at him. He gave us our drinks and we both downed them within minutes.

A few minutes later Kennedy and Garrett came to the bar. "You girl's ready?" Kennedy asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Peyton answered.

"I am so ready," I said, jumping up. Garrett wrapped his arms around my waist and started walking me towards the stage.

"You look beautiful," he whispered in my ear.

"You look beautiful, too," I whispered back.

Then, the lights dimmed and you could hear the crowd screaming. This was it. I was very pumped and excited to do this. I looked over at Julia, who was not so pumped. I could tell she was nervous. She had no reason to be, though. She rocked it when it came to singing, and everyone knew that. Jared and Garrett walked up to me right before it was time to go on.

"Are you ready for this?" Jared asked me.

"Uh, duh!" I said as we fist bumped each other. I looked back at Peyton, who was looking at me. We nodded at each other, which meant it was time.

"Here you go. This is my guitar, so don't smash it after your set or anything," Garrett said, handing me the guitar. I put it on and adjusted it so it fit on me perfectly. He smiled at me and kissed my forehead. "You're going to do amazing."

We walked on the stage, and the crowd cheered. It felt nice having this much attention on us. Peyton gave me a look that meant 'You talk'. I walked up the microphone and began rambling.

"What's up, Virginia!" I yelled. The crowd screamed back.

"I'm sure you know who that is," I said, pointing to Peyton. "But if you don't, her name is Peyton, and my name is Julia!" They screamed again.

"We're going to cover a few songs, if you guys don't mine. Each of these songs are special to us in one way or another. Feel free to sing along with us," Peyton said into the microphone with a whole lot of confidence.

"This first song is a song that is special to both of us. It's by this guy, maybe you've heard of him. His name is Ryan. Ryan Adams," I stated. This was it. We were about to perform our first song. I stared at my hand on the guitar, waiting for Peyton to announce the song title.

"This song is called, 'This House Is Not For Sale'," Peyton informed the crowd, and I started playing. Once my hand started strumming, it felt like I was in the right place. I didn't miss a note, and Peyton's voice sounded beautiful, like always. I looked back at Garrett a few times, because I knew he'd like this song choice. I mean, he's the reason that song meant a lot to me. Every time I looked back, he'd be smiling at me, singing along, which made me feel great. We finished up the song, and Peyton nodded at me, which meant it was my pick for the next song.

"This next song holds a very special place in my heart. I really hope you guys enjoy it," I said, smiling at the crowd. We were playing "A Lack of Color" by Death Cab for Cutie. This song meant a lot to me, because every time Cameron and I would get into a fight, I would listen to this song on repeat for hours, or until he called to apologize. I figured since we were in the town where all my memories with him were taken place, this would be an appropriate song to play. I had my eyes closed for most of the time we played this song because I felt like crying the whole time. But we finished the song, and I looked over at Peyton, who was already looking at me. The next song was going to lift my spirits up.

"So Julia," she started.

"Yes, Peyton?" I answered, smiling at her.

"I don't know if these people know about the substitution in the line-up tonight," she started. The crowd started looking at each other and talking, "Well, I don't know if you guys saw John Gomez's tweet, but Stephen was arrested today," she continued.

"He was. For being an ass to a cop," I said with a laugh.

"True facts," she nodded. The crowd started yelling stuff like "AW" and "I HATE COPS".

"Anyways," Peyton spoke up, "Our good friends of A Rocket to the Moon were nice enough to fill in." The room went crazy.

"I think they like A Rocket to the Moon," I joked.

"Is there a Justin Richards in the building?" Peyton asked loudly into the microphone.

"This next song is a song by a band called Brighten," I spoke up, tuning my guitar. "We'd like to ask our friend Justin if he would like to join us onstage," I added, looking over at him. He grabbed a guitar and ran onto the stage. He ran over to me and hugged me, then hugged Peyton. This was the first time we had seen him since our party a long ass time ago.

"This song is called 'Easy To Fall In Love,'" I said, looking over at them.

I started strumming, and Peyton and Justin would sing, and I'd come in at some parts, and it was just an amazing experience. Peyton and I were fan girls when it came to Brighten, and we just covered a Brighten song with Justin himself. As soon as the song was over, Justin started applauding. Peyton and I both blushed like fags. The crowd started clapping and cheering. Justin waved at them and then exited the stage.

We had two songs left. The next song was Peyton's idea to play, and when she suggested it to me, I knew we had to play it.

"This next song," Peyton said, reaching for her water bottle, "is a song that is so special to me, for so many reasons. I am dedicating this song to someone, and he knows who he is. If he is listening," she stopped and took a deep breath, "I wanted to tell him that I am sorry, and that I never meant to hurt him." She looked over at me and I smiled at her.

"I've been jumping from the tops of buildings," Peyton began singing as I started playing. We were playing "My Beautiful Rescue" by This Providence. That was their song. I looked over at Peyton, who had her eyes on Halvo, who was in the back of the room. I continued to strum, and as I did, I scanned the crowd. Everyone was singing a long, having what seemed to be a good time. There were two people in the middle of the crowd, though, that caught my attention. I squinted my eyes to study them closer, but then I realized we were almost done with the song, so I stopped worrying about it.

"I've been jumping from the tops of buildings, with you," we closed the song, and the crowd cheered like mad men.

"Thank you guys, so much," I said. "So, are you guys stoked to see A Rocket to the Moon?" They cheered and clapped. There were a few screams. "How about The Maine?" I asked them, and the screams and cheers were even louder. "How about a band called, FOREVER THE SICKEST KIDS," I yelled, and the crowd was super loud. Peyton looked over at me, and we both got excited. It was our last song, and we wanted to bring someone out to help us again.

"Nicholas Bernard Santino, come on down," Peyton spoke into my microphone. It took him a second to get onstage, but he did, and he was so excited. He grabbed and extra mic and turned it on.

"It's my turn?" he asked. I stood up and pushed her guitar to my back and gave Nick a hug. Peyton hugged him, too. Sweet reunion.

"Anyone know what heritage Nicholas comes from?" Peyton asked the crowd. Almost everyone shouted out "Italian."

"Oh dear god, no," Nick laughed.

"It's so hot in here. Does anyone need some, 'Italian Ice'?" I asked, and Peyton laughed at my lameness.

"Take it away Nicholas," Peyton told him. He shook his head and then smiled and nodded.

"My flow, my flow, it knocks bitches out like Nyquil, no doubt," he started. Peyton and I joined in, not missing a single word. This was a birthday I would never forget. I don't think I could have asked for a better night.

We finished the song, said our goodbyes to the crowd, and exited he stage. Nick gave us hugs again and ran so he could get ready to play. As soon as he let go, Jared and Garrett both pulled me in for a tight group hug. Jared let go and got the guitar off my back, but Garrett just held on.

"That was so awesome!" he said, still having a grip on me.

"Wasn't it?" I replied.

"Thank you, Garrett," Peyton said. He looked over at her, but didn't let go of me.

"For what?" he asked.

"For letting us do this. I will never be able to top how incredible that was."

"You guys rocked so hard," he replied, "I am glad you guys said yes. I didn't think you would," he chuckled.

"You guys legit got me hard," Jared spoke up, giving us both high fives. I chuckled at him, and Pat and John came over.

"Oh my god," John said. "You guys need to start a band."

"No way. Bands have too many issues. I love Julia, and if we were in a band together, that might change."

"We may have a lot of band issues, but I would kill for any one of these guys, any day. Even John," Kennedy said with a chuckle. John laughed.

"Are we cool?" John asked Kennedy.

"Yeah, we're cool," Kennedy replied, giving John a knuckle bump.

We all talked until it was time for The Maine to go on stage. We all exchanged hugs and told everyone good luck. Except I didn't touch Pat. He passed by me on his way to the stage, and he stared at me the whole time.

"Good luck," I whispered to him. He put on a half smile.

"Thanks."

Peyton and I watched as they made their way out and got the crowd rowdy. Peyton looked over at me.

"Julie?" Peyton asked.

"Hm?" I answered.

"Who's doing merch?"

"Phileroo," I replied. He said that would be his gift to me.

"Oh god, I bet he wants to kill himself."

"So what? I haven't gotten to see my boys play really all tour, and I am not ruining my birthday selling merch."

"True dat," she nodded.

"So what did you guys think of Peyton and Julia?" Garrett asked the crowd and the cheered. That really made us feel special.

"Well, what do you say we bring them both out to help us with this next song?" Jared joined in. We both walked onstage and waved at the crowd again. Jared pulled up a stool and told me to sit down. I smiled like a fag cause I knew what they were about to do.

"It's a really easy song, and it goes a little something like this." Garrett started. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Julia, Happy Birthday to you!"

Jonathan walked on stage with a cupcake with a candle in it as they sang. When they finished, I blew out the candle, and everyone clapped and cheered. He then proceeded to take out the candle out and then smushed it in my face. Bitch. I grabbed the cupcake and then threw it at him as he ran away, and I couldn't stop laughing.

"Oh yummy!" Garrett said as he and Jared started to lick my face.

"Oh gross, guys no!" I screamed, shooing them off. Peyton threw me a towel and I wiped the rest of the icing off of my face.

"Really though," John started talking again. "We wanted them to help us out with this song." A tech ran out and gave each of us a microphone. I didn't expect this. I had a smile that looked like a capital U going on as I stood between Jared and Garrett. Jared and Kennedy started playing the opening chords, and I got excited.

"Got caught, running up a tab, couldn't drive home so I had to share a cab," John started and then Peyton and I joined in whenever we thought the time was right. It was amazing.

As soon as we walked offstage, Peyton and I both saw who was awaiting her.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Halvo asked her, handing her a cup. She nodded and took it, taking a sip. Halvo turned around, and Peyton looked over at me, so I started making humping motions and very sexual hand gestures. She flipped me off and followed after him.

"What the fuck was that up there?" I heard a very familiar voice behind me say. No way. I turned around to see Eric and David standing there.

"Oh my god, I thought it was you two in the crowd!" I yelled, pulling them both in for a hug.

"We came for the show, and it was you up there! Happy birthday by the way," Eric said with a huge smile on his face as I pulled away from them.

"It was a last minute thing, and thanks," I replied.

"It felt like we were back in high school, when you would play in the talent show," David joked. I laughed at them.

"Yeah, except it wasn't Peyton who was singing with me," I said quietly. I felt a knot forming in my throat. I shouldn't have asked this, but I did anyway. "How … is he?"

"He hasn't been himself," David answered after a moment of silence.

"He tried calling you. We all did," Eric said.

"My phone is at home … It took you over a month to call?" I asked. I felt like crying.

"We wanted to call when we got back, but Cameron told us to wait because he wanted to call you first. He just never did," David said. Then his phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocked, stared at it, and then looked at me.

"Let me answer it," I quietly said, taking the phone from him. I opened it up. It was now or never. "H-h-hello?"

"This…this isn't David. Did I call the wrong number?" Cameron's voice asked through the phone.

"This is David's phone," I replied.

"Well whe-… wait, wait …" he stopped. I guess he recognized my voice.

"It's me," I stammered.

"Julia … julia, you're there? Not in Arizona?" he asked.

"I'm on tour, Cameron," I replied, voice still shaky. This was really weird for me.

"Can I come see you?" he asked me. I looked at David and Eric, who was now joined by Garrett and Jared since The Maine finished their set.

"Sure. We have some unfinished business, anyways…" I replied, hanging up David's phone and handing it back to him.

"What does he want?" Garrett asked me, putting his arm around my shoulder.

"He's coming here," I replied, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Why?" Jared chimed in.

"We need to settle this," I answered.

I sat outside of the venue on the sidewalk, alone, waiting for Cameron to show up. Everyone else said they'd meet me back on the bus. I started playing with my hair, trying to make it look nice. I don't know why. I didn't need to impress Cameron. We were just discussing what happened between us.

I saw a shadow approaching me. I knew it was him. I didn't want to look up though. I didn't want to seem like I was anxious.

"Julia," he said, sitting down in front of me. I slowly brought my eyes up and met his, and the instant they met, the tears started flowing down. He quickly pulled me into his arms, and I cried on his chest.

"Why, Cameron?" I managed to get out. "Why?"

"It took me a month to think of what I would say to you, Julia," he whispered to me. "I hate not having my best friend in my life." He started rocking me back and forth.

"Then why didn't you call me back that night, Cameron? Why did you leave?"

"I felt like I took advantage of you, Julia. I told you this. I felt like a terrible person. I loved you, and we rushed into that. I still love you, Julia, you know that. You know I always will."

"I know, Cameron, and I love you." I pulled back from him. "That's why I had sex with you that night. You might have regretted it, but I never did. I still don't. I knew it was right. But that's the past, so…"

"Let the past be the past," he murmured.

"Cameron, you were my best friend since kindergarten, and you have been ever since then. We tried to take it somewhere further than that, and look what happened. I lost you. We lost each other," I started, stopping to sigh. "Maybe this whole thing is a sign that we're just meant to be friends."

"I guess you're right," he said, standing up. He held out his hand. I grabbed it and he helped me stand up.

"Let's just, forget everything that happened. It's my 21st birthday, let's go party like we did when we were in high school," I said, taking his hand and leading him back to the venue. When we got back inside, FTSK was already over, and people were leaving. I caught up with Jared, Garrett, Kennedy, David, and Eric. Garrett smiled at me, but stared down Cameron.

"We're good," I stated as we walked up to them. They all smiled as us, except Garrett, who did a half smile thing.

"Can I talk to you for a moment, Julia? Over here?" he mumbled, pulling me by my arm away from everyone else.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Just like that, you and Cameron are friends again?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Garrett. And he's been there for me since kindergarten. I can't just cut him out of my life like that."

"If you're okay with him, then I will be, too. I just don't want to see you hurt again," he said, putting his arm around my shoulder. We walked back over to the guys.

"So, where's the party going to be?" I asked out loud.

"We have a few hotel rooms rented. There's an indoor pool …" Jared started. I smiled really wide.

"POOL PARTY! Let's go get our bathing suits!" I said, pulling on Garrett's arm. We walked out of the venue to the bus hand in hand. When we got on the bus, I had to dump my suitcase out on Garrett's bunk to find my maroon two-piece, but eventually I found it.

"Are you going to put your clothes back? People will think they're mine," he asked, going through his suitcase as well.

"Oh boo-hoo," I mocked. I took off my pants and threw them to the side.

"What…what are you doing?" Garrett asked. He kept his head looking the opposite direction.

"Garrett, you have seen me naked before. Get over it," I replied, taking off my undies and putting on my bathing suit bottoms. I took off my shirt and threw it over on my pants. Garrett looked over at me and smiled, then looked back down, still trying to find his trunks. I unhooked my bra and threw it at him, and it landed on his head.

"Seriously, Julia?" he laughed, throwing the bra on the ground. I just laughed and put on my top.

"Garrett, can I borrow a shirt?" I asked, walking closer to him.

"For?"

"Because I want to borrow a shirt."

"Okay…take this one," he said, handing me a t-shirt. It was an old Slayer shirt. I chuckled and slipped it on.

"I'm going to go outside to find David and all of them. I'll be waiting for you out there," I said, exiting the bus. Luckily, David, Eric, and Cameron were already waiting outside of the bus.

"We already drove home and got our trunks," Cameron stated, pointing to his lower region.

"Who's driving?" I asked.

"Eric," Cameron and David answered in unison. Garrett then joined us.

"Everyone ready to party?" David said while doing a little jig.

"Let's go!" I yelled. We all piled into Eric's tiny car and headed to the hotel.

"Do it, Jared! Do it!" everyone in the pool cheered. He finally jumped.

"Cannonball!" Jared shouted as he made a big splash in the pool. Jobe flirted with the receptionist or something like that and she let us party in the pool just for this night. The pool was indoors, huge, and everyone that was on this tour was in here.

"Julia, come here!" John Gomez yelled from the shallow side of the pool. I swam over there and joined him, John Ohh, and Jonathan.

"What is it?" I asked. Then, Jonathan picked me up, holding me bridal style.

"Jonathan, what the fuck are you doing?" I said in between laughs. He kept a form grip on me while I wiggled, trying to get out of his grasp.

"Throw her JCook! Throw her!" John Ohh yelled, cheering him on.

"No! No!" I screamed, but he threw me in the deep end of the pool anyways. I swam back up to the surface to see a pool full of people laughing at me.

The room erupted in cheers and claps all of a sudden. I looked over to where everyone else was looking, and it was Stephen, making his grand entrance after his run in with the police. Dumb ass.

A few hours later, most of us were out of the pool and just sitting around talking. I was sitting with Garrett, Jonathan, Kyle, and Cameron. All of us were drunk as shit except Garrett, who was just laughing at the rest of us. He kept a hand on my leg the whole time, probably as a protection thing.

"Kyle…Kyle and I … we like to fly," Jonathan said to us.

"We fly like penguins in the arrrrrrrrctic!" Kyle stammered.

"Kyle, penguins can't fly," Cameron said to him.

"I didn't say pen-gee-wins," Kyle mumbled. He then stood up.

"We are …. We are planes! We fly like planes, get high like paper," Jonathan sang, wrong, and then stood up too. They then proceeded to run around, holding out their arms, pretending to be airplanes. But Kyle got a little too carried away, and next thing we know, Peyton gets accidently pushed in the pool. John Gomez and Kennedy fished her out, and I ran over to her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, slurring my words. I sat down next to her.

"Yes. No. I don't know." she replied, wiping her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her, and comforted her for awhile, just rocking her back and forth. John Ohh eventually came up and took my spot. Cameron came up beside me as I slowly backed away from John and Peyton.

"Julia, can we, can we talk?" he asked me.

"Suuure, buddy. Let's go up stairs," I replied, grabbing the key to my room off of a table. We entered the room and he closed the door behind us.

"What do you wanna talk aboot?" I asked.

"I just wanted to catch, catch up. I haven't seen you in fo-eva," he replied, sitting on the bed. I sat down next to him.

"I missed you, Cameron, as my friend."

"I missed you too, JuJuJu. I need you back in my life," he whispered, wrapping his arms around me. I looked up at him, and he looked back down at me with his beautiful eyes… Our faces eventually just inched closer until our lips touched, and neither one of us pulled back. He lowered me on my back, got on top of me, and started lightly kissing around my neck and collar bone. He removed his trunks and threw them to the side, and then he removed my two-piece bathing suit. The rest is all a blur.


	24. Fix It

ATTENTION: Emma is posting her chapter on Monday. I just promised everyone on tumblr that I would post a chapter this weekend. I don't like breaking promises! So here you go. Reviews are welcome!

The sunlight streaming through the partially open drapes shone right onto my face, waking me up. The moment I opened my eyes, my already splitting headache worsened. I blinked a few times, taking in my surroundings. I could only remember a few things that happened last night. I lay in bed, trying to remember anything. I sighed. I don't ever recall one time where I woke up in the morning not remembering a whole lot of ANYTHING. I stretched and yawned, and then suddenly realized a few things. First off, I was naked. Second, there was no cast on my leg. Third, there was another body in this bed. I was scared to look over, because whoever it was, this one person, he took my virginity. Whoever it was, was someone that I hoped, would regret last night as much as I did. I was scared to look over. I heard him lightly snoring, and I took a deep breath. Moment of truth.

I slowly turned my head to the right, and came face to face with a sleeping John O'Callaghan. I jumped up, taking the sheets with me, leaving his naked body exposed. I covered my eyes and turned around. "Oh my god," I whispered under my breath. "Where are my clothes?" I thought to myself looking around. I wanted to get out of here as fast as I possibly could. John started to stir, so I stopped moving. I did NOT want him to wake up right now. I just wanted to get out of here. He stilled, and I ran for the door, grabbing my bikini and shorts on the way. I opened it and made sure it closed quietly behind me. I turned around to see Julia coming out of the hotel room right across from mine, rocking the same white sheet I was, making sure the door closed quietly behind her too. She turned around and jumped at the sight of me.

"I messed up," we both said at the same time.

We walked down the hall looking for somewhere to change, but the only place we could change was the bathroom on the first floor of the hotel. We got on the elevator and hoped to Justin Richards in Heaven that we didn't run into anyone. We didn't want to talk about anything right now, so we were silent until the elevator stopped. We both took a deep breath and stuck our heads out of the elevator when the doors opened.

"Coast is clear," Julia whispered. We ran, well she ran, I limped, across the lobby into the one person bathroom. We were about to play rock, paper, scissors to decide who gets to change first, but we heard Kennedy's voice getting closer and closer, so I pushed her into the bathroom. We locked the door and sighed in relief that he didn't see us.

"So. You and Garrett?" I asked her, slipping on my bathing suit bottoms under the sheet. She didn't answer me. She couldn't even look at me. Then she decided to put me in the hot seat.

"So, you and Eric?"

"No." I replied, fastening my bikini top.

"You and Kennedy," she asked again.

"Nope."

"You and Baby Go?" she asked.

"Nope."

"Well I am running out of people, because I KNOW it was not John O'Callaghan."

I didn't say anything, just balled up the sheet and tossed it in the corner of the bathroom.

"Well, please tell me you slept with Garrett," I demanded.

"I slept with Garrett." I smiled at her answer. Thank god.

"Good. It was about time."

"You told me to tell you that, that doesn't make it true. I just did what you told me to."

"You slept with… no. No, I know you did not sleep with Cameron." I yelled, a little too loud.

"SHHHH. Jesus, Peyton. Yes, okay. I did sleep with Cameron," she replied tossing her sheet in the corner.

"Wow, we both really did screw up, didn't we." I sighed.

"It's what we do best," she replied, opening the door. We were greeted face to face with a very angry looking Kennedy.

"Hi Kenny," I tried to smile. He just glared at me.

"You heard all of that, didn't you?" Julia asked.

"Yup," he replied.

"I am just going to go find Daisy," Julia said, starting to walk away. Kennedy grabbed her arm and pulled her back. A lecture was coming. I just knew it.

"You slept with Cameron, again?" he asked her. Damn my loud mouth. She nodded, looking ashamed.

"You slept with John?" he looked at me, and I felt like crying. I nodded.

"I am very disappointed in both of you. How could you repeat a mistake over?" he asked Julia. "And how could you lose something you were holding onto. I can't believe you lost it to John of all people!" he told me. I felt like shit right now. Then he wiped the mad look off of his face and opened his arms to both of us. He knew we both knew we screwed up, and didn't need a lecture from him. We fell into his arms and let him try to comfort us for a minute or so until Stephen Gomez rounded the corner.

"Care to make this a foursome?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Someone is looking for you Peyton," Kennedy told me.

"Yeah, and someone has been looking for you all night, Julia." Stephen told her. Joy.

"Come on," Kennedy sighed, grabbing my hand. We started walking through the lobby to the door that led outside. He tossed me the purple flannel shirt I was wearing yesterday.

"Who's looking for me? John Gomez?" I asked, starting to button the shirt up.

"Nope. Eric." Oh.

"Well is there anything I should know about last night? Like what happened with him? Because I don't remember anything. I remember arriving at the hotel, but that's it. Halvo and I started drinking way before we got here."

"Well. He found out that you and Caleb made out. Then he found out that you and I made out. He stormed off, but he came back to look for you and you were upstairs. Wrapping your legs around John."

"Nice way to put it," I sighed. "Does he know that?" I asked.

"No, he doesn't. I wouldn't tell him either, Peyton."

"I have to, though," and just then he came into view. He was pacing back and forth, reciting something to himself, it looked like.

"Don't tell him," Kennedy whispered, kissing my forehead and walking back towards the hotel. I finished buttoning the shirt and walked the rest of the way by myself. He was so busy pacing, he didn't see me.

"Hey," I greeted him. He jumped and then smiled when he saw me. He smiled. I can't do this.

"Hey, I kind of need to talk to you." he said, motioning for me to sit down on the van floor. The door was open, so I sat down and watched him begin to pace back and forth again.

"Eric, I need to tell you something," I informed him, watching him walk back and forth over and over again.

"Me first," he said, looking at me. I closed my mouth and waited for him to begin.

"My whole twenty-one years, I have waited to be as happy as I am when I am with you." he stopped pacing and continued to look at me. "You hurt me, Peyton, but I guess I hurt you too. You thought that I broke up with you. I didn't, but I can see how you thought that. It was a misunderstanding, one that made us both miserable. I don't want to be miserable anymore. I want to go back to a week ago, when we were both-" he paused, thinking of the words to say, "Well, I guess we were falling in love. Or at least I was, I don't know. I just want us to be okay again."

"Eric," I took a deep breath. "I need to tell you something."

"If it's bad, then I don't want to hear it."

"It happened last night, and I just really-"

"Please, Peyton," he pleaded with me. "I don't want anything to ruin this again. Whatever it is, please."

"But Eric, I can't just make it go away. I screwed up, again, and I just really want you to hear it from me-"

"I don't want to hear it, though. Whatever it is, please, make it your little secret, because I don't think our relationship could handle anything else right now," he sighed. He looked sad. He walked to me and lifted me up, making sure my feet landed on the ground gently. Then he did something that I had missed. He kissed me.

We walked back into the lobby of the hotel, hand in hand to join up with everyone else. Right when we walked in, I literally ran smack into John O'Callaghan.

"Sorry," I mumbled, trying not to look at him, because all I could picture was him naked this morning.

"It's okay!" he smiled at me. He seemed like he was in a good mood.

"John was just talking about waking up naked this morning," Stephen informed us. "He has no idea who he slept with. She was gone before she woke up. Or maybe it was a he." Stephen winked at John.

"Oh, shut up. You're just jealous because you didn't get any last night."

"And how do you know?" he smiled at John.

At least he didn't remember who it was. Thank you, Justin Richards in Heaven. Eric wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. He planted a small kiss on my cheek. John smiled a sad smile at me.

"Glad you two patched things up," John smiled at Halvo and then he turned to Stephen to continue their conversation. "Anyway, I know it was a girl. She left a ring on the nightstand." Oh shit. "It was purple." Oh shit.

"A purple ring?" Eric spoke up, eyeing John. Then he looked down at my fingers. There was no purple ring on my finger.

No purple ring that Eric bought me on my finger. I hadn't worn it since the night I thought we broke up. I put it on yesterday before we came to the hotel. John looked at Eric confused and then at me. After he finally caught on, he turned as white as the sheet I was wearing this morning.

"I tried to tell you this morning," I whispered to Eric. He didn't say anything. He just kept staring at my finger. It looked as if he was trying to make the ring appear on my finger again. Then none of this would be real. But the ring would not just appear on my finger, and this was very real.

"You de-virginized two of my favorite girls? The two that mean the most to me? You are the worst friend in the whole fucking world," Halvo said calmly to John. "And you," he looked at me, "Outside." He pointed to the door. I looked over at John. Two girls? He looked like he may just cry after what his best friend had just said to him. I slowly walked past Eric and into the warm Virginia morning air. I felt Eric grab my arm and pull me, rather hard, might I add, behind him.

"Ouch," I cried out. He let me go and then he started the pacing thing again.

"You promised," Eric spat out. Oh shit, here it came. "We were going to lose our virginity to each other!"

"It's not like I planned this, Eric! I was drunk and you ran away from me last night. I screwed up. I have made more bad choices on this one tour than I have made my whole entire life. I just," I sighed and realized that my foot was throbbing from all of the walking, "I really need to sit down."

"You need to sit down? That's all you are going to say?"

"No, but my cast got wet and peeled off last night, and I need to go to the doctor today to get a new one! My foot hurts, okay?" I shot back, looking for a chair. I found one and sat down. Relief.

"Get in the van then, I will take you. We need to finish this discussion."

"No. We can finish it right now. Two girls?" I asked, looking up at him from my chair. I needed to know who this other girl was.

"Dana." Eric rubbed his neck with his hand and looked away from me.

"John and your sister?" I was shocked.

"She was fifteen. He talked her into it, or at least that's what she told me. They were each other's firsts. I don't want to talk about that, Peyton. I want to talk about what the fuck you were doing with John in that room last night."

"I screwed up, Eric. I don't even know how much I drank. Enough to not remember anything about last night, and I have never, ever been that drunk."

"I just, don't know what to think about this. I keep trying to give you chances and you keep fucking them up!" he yelled.

"Yes, Eric, I am aware that I keep fucking them up." I sighed, and looked towards the hotel. I wondered what Julia was doing. Hopefully her conversation with Garrett was going better than mine. "I just wish I would have stayed home instead of coming on this tour. I am supposed to be having the time of my life, but I just keep fucking everything up."

"Maybe you should stop drinking so much," he crossed his arms and looked down at his feet.

"Yeah, maybe I should." I sighed. "I know whatever I say right now will not fix us," I took a deep breath, and said something I wanted to say to him yesterday. I hadn't realized it until I saw him, "but I love you."

Those words felt weird coming out my mouth. Never have I said them to anybody who wasn't my family in the context I just did. He stopped staring at his feet and looked back up at me. I saw his lip twitch into a half smile, but it only last a split second.

"Saying you love someone doesn't fix things. Especially if you had sex with his best friend."

"I know. I just thought you should know."

"Come here," he held out his hand. I grabbed onto it and he pulled me into him. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. The next words out of his mouth gave me both relief and made me sad.

"I love you too, but we need some time apart," he said in a low voice. I understood, so I nodded slowly. "If you really do love me, like you say you do," he pulled back slowly and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, "then meet me where we had dinner at the park, the day you get back from tour at 8 o'clock pm. You have a few weeks to decide what you want." I shook my head.

"I already know what I want," I said. "I want you." I stood up on my tippy toes and brought my lips to his. I could kiss him for the rest of my life. He gave in and kissed me back, but pulled away too quickly.

"We need this. You may love me, but I know you have feelings for John. Why else would you keep going back to him?"

"Everything with him was a mistake," I pleaded. I didn't want this. "I only want you."

"Then show up at the park on 8 o'clock. If you do, then we will forget about everything, and go on with our lives. If you don't show up, then I will know you chose John. Or Kennedy. Or Caleb," he joked.

"Funny," I sighed. I guess I had no choice. "I will be there. Earlier than 8. I will be there as soon as I get home. I promise you that."

"I hope so," he pulled me closer to him, and planted one simple kiss to my neck. "I love you," he murmured under his breath. Then he let go of me and joined the rest of his band, who were walking to their van. I wrapped my arms tightly around my body as I watched him walk away. He looked back at me one time and gave me a sad smile before he climbed in. My heart felt like it was going to explode.

"I love you too," I whispered into the wind as their van slowly drove away.

There was no way I was going inside right now, so I sat back down in the chair and watched the sky. I watched as it went from perfect, to rainy. I loved the smell of the rain. It always comforted me. We didn't get it often in Arizona, and I missed it. I looked down at my foot, which still looked disfigured. I needed to go back to the doctors as soon as possible, but going inside right now, not an option. I felt the hot tears steadily roll down my cheeks. I wiped at them, but they just kept coming back. What had happened to me? I used to be a different person. I graduated top of my class in high school. I kicked ass in my college classes. I never did anything that I regretted. I used to think that alcohol was the root of all evil. I had high hopes for myself, including waiting until I was in love to have sex for the first time. I guess I did that, but I had sex with the wrong guy. I hurt the only guy I have ever been in love with. I needed to make some changes, and I needed to start making them today.

"You okay?" I jumped at the sound of John Gomez's voice.

"Shit, you scared me," I sighed and continued to watch the rain.

"Well, I think I should take you to the doctor before we leave today," he offered his hand, so I took it. He supported me all the way to the van, and I was more grateful to him than any other guy in my life right now. We understood each other, and that was what I needed most right now. A friend. Not a guy hitting on me all of the time.

He didn't ask me any questions; he waited until I wanted to speak. I offered the information freely to him, going over anything I could remember about yesterday.

"I will make sure that you do nothing stupid the rest of the tour. I promise," he told me, putting the van into park as we arrived at the doctors.

"Thank you, John." I smiled at him.

"Let's go fix your foot, again," he said as he opened the van door.

We walked into the hospital and had to wait about an hour before we were seen. John's sweet-talk and flirting would do us no good on the 300 pound male nurse at the desk. Mine wouldn't either, seeing as I was not in the mood. The old Peyton wouldn't have thought twice about it. The new Peyton wanted to prove to Eric Halvorsen that she could have self control. I want nothing more in the world than Eric James Halvorsen, and nothing will get in my way. That is a promise.

Bring it on.

I stared at my light blue cast as we drove back to the venue. We were meeting everyone there so we could leave straight for New York. I was really excited, because I had never been there before.

"I wonder if I got all of you to sign this cast, do you think I could sell it on ebay and make some money?"

"Who would want our autographs? Plus, who is going to buy a stinky, sweaty cast?" he teased.

"Somebody would! I could get The Summer Set, The Maine, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Downtown Fiction and A Rocket to the Moon to sign. I will be making the big bucks. Then I could pay off next year's school tuition!"

"Just don't fall into anymore pools," he snickered as we reached our destination.

"Then my cash cow will die," I smiled and slowly got out of the car. They gave me more pain pills, but I really didn't need them. My foot hurt a little, but it was nothing I couldn't handle.

"Are you guys ready yet?" Brian asked as we came into view.

"Yeah," John nodded towards him.

"Could have told us you were taking the van." Brian snapped. What the fuck was his problem?

"I had to go get a new cast and we didn't think you would mi-"

"Cool story, bro," he snapped and climbed in the driver's seat, slamming the door behind him.

"What even?" I asked John. He just shrugged.

"Maybe Chelsea dumped him again," he answered, grabbing his backpack off of the pavement. I looked over towards The Maine's bus and saw Kennedy waiting for me.

I slowly made my way to the bus. I was back on the crutches, how amazing.

"Thank you John," I shouted out behind me.

"You're welcome," he shouted back.

"I don't know if you want to go on just yet…" Kennedy advised me.

"Uh, and why not?" I asked.

"Well. Everybody is fighting. Stuff has been said, stuff has been thrown. Jared and I are just out here, chilling." I looked around for Jared.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Smoking."

"I thought he quit." I sighed and leaned against the bus with Kennedy. "Why are they fighting? Garrett find out about Cameron and Julia?"

"Well, that only lasted a little while. Garrett and Pat and John are fighting. John's a wreck and he broke a bunch of really expensive shit. Max will shit bricks when he finds out. I think you should go talk to him. Sounds like the fighting has stopped," Kennedy said. Pat came storming off of the bus and ran towards the Forever the Sickest Kids bus.

"I am not riding with Garrett!" he yelled back at us. "This tour is fucking bullshit. This band is fucking bullshit. "

"It's really bad when Pat curses," Jared sighed, finally joining us. "The band is falling apart."

"No kidding," Kennedy shook his head. "This band is my life, Jared. It can't fall apart. I need this band to live."

"I know how you feel, bro, but just look at us."

"What happened with Garrett and Pat?" I asked, butting into business that wasn't mine to be butting into.

"Julia," they said in unison.

"What about her."

"Garrett forgave her for sleeping with Cameron. Pat, who didn't even cheat on Julia, started yelling at her. He still loves her, and he just wanted forgiveness, and he was just mad that she got it when she, in his opinion, didn't deserve it, and he felt like he was being judged by the whole band. It just got out of control."

"Well why is he mad at Garrett and not Julia?" I asked.

"Who knows," Jared spoke up. "None of our business, I guess."

"Well, before the band breaks up, I have an idea." I smiled and pulled Kennedy and Jared into a huddle. Game plan.

We walked onto the bus a few minutes later and found Garret cradling a crying Julia to his chest. It broke my heart, because I knew she regretted it. I knew Garrett was the best thing to happen to Julia, and the fact that he could forgive her so easily for something that bad, made me love him all the more. I needed to talk to John. I looked the length of the bus for him, and didn't see him. I heard the faint sound of an acoustic guitar from John's bunk. Kennedy spanked me, telling me to go. I nodded and knocked on the outside of the bunk. John poked his head out. He looked terrible.

"Hey," he mumbled.

"We should talk," I said, climbing into his bunk.

"Yeah, we should," John replied setting the guitar aside. "Last night was the worst thing that could have possibly happened," he sighed. "I finally pushed Halvo over the edge. I knew it was coming, but I didn't want it to."

"You can fix it, John." I grabbed his hand, comfortingly. He squeezed it and closed his eyes. Tears starting rolling down his cheeks, and I felt helpless. It was the worst thing in the world to see a boy cry, especially one you cared about.

"I screwed everything up, again. There was a time when Eric didn't talk to me for a year."

"Was it when you," I hesitated, hating the fact that I was bringing this up, "slept with Dana?" I asked. He leaned his head back against the wall. His tears were doubling in number and size.

"Don't answer that, it's none of my business, but he's not so happy with me right now either." I confessed, hoping it would make John feel a little better knowing that he wasn't the only one. It didn't. He opened his tear streamed eyes and pulled me in for a hug.

"I am so, so sorry about last night, Peyton. I feel like such an asshole." I laid in his arms for a long time.

"It's not like it's all your fault John. I am pretty sure I had just as much fault as you did."

"But I knew you were waiting, and I took something that meant a lot to you."

"Well I was in love," I sighed, "I love you, John. But I don't love you like that. You are one of my best friends and I will always love you. But I am in love with Halvo."

"I know. I can tell," he sighed. "It's too bad. You could have tamed me." We both chuckled.

"You'll find someone, and you will settle down and make lots of sex and babies. You will sit on the front porch with your wife when you are 98 years old, yelling at people who step near your garden,"

"That sounds really nice," he nodded, leaning his head on mine.

"I want that. I never thought about kids, but I think they would be okay." I confessed.

"Your kid would be loved. Look at how many uncles it would have."

"How many awesomely, cool uncles. Kid would have so many musical instruments, it could be a one person band."

"Haha, yeah. Kennedy and Jared would try to get it to play guitar, Garrett would try to get it to play bass, and Pat with the drums. It would be a singer, naturally."

"Naturally," I giggled. I wiped the remaining tears off of John's cheeks. He was smiling, and that's all I was trying to accomplish.

"I think I would be a good dad," John stated. "I mean, I couldn't imagine it right now, but in a few years, I think I could be a good dad."

"You would be an amazing dad. It will happen," I smiled, "Look at all of the girls after you already."

"Yeah, they are really deep."

"You don't even know them." I smiled. He smiled back and nodded.

"They aren't you," he said, seriously.

"John," I sighed and looked down at my hands.

"I know," he mumbled, almost inaudibly.

"I have to prove to Eric that I want him and nobody else."

"What?"

"Eric, the day we get back from tour, he is going to wait for me at the park at 8 o'clock. If I show up, we start over, and if I don't, well then it was fun while it lasted. I love him, John and I need to prove to him that I want him."

"How am I going to prove to him that he really is my best friend, and I never want to hurt him ever again." John asked me.

"You have a phone, use it. Just call him." I answered. John nodded and then picked up the guitar and started playing around with it. I listened, and his chords were not bad. Not bad at all. They just needed lyrics. So we worked on them. For hours. We ended up with something that we were both proud of. It was one thing in my life that went right, and I guess John and I could call this song our baby. It meant that much to us.

"This song is too good to just mess around with. Record with me," he demanded.

"I am not going to record it with you, John," I replied, fooling around on the guitar. It was horrible. I was no Julia, I was horrible at guitar.

"Did you even hear what we just created? It has to be laid down."

"Yes, it was amazing, and it felt good to write it. I just don't want to record it. "

"You need to be heard," John smiled at me.

"People can hear me, when I sing with you on stage." I reminded him.

"Not the same. We are recording this and you have no say in the matter."

"Whatever. Julia has to play guitar on the song, or it's a no deal."

"FUCK YES!" I heard Julia shouting from right outside of the curtain. How long had she been listening?

"She can do back up vocals too," John nodded. I heard her jumping up and down outside of the bunk.

"Go away, Julia!" I yelled. She scoffed, but eventually I heard her footsteps getting softer at a distance.

"It's a duet, John. People will think we are together. I wouldn't care if I wasn't trying to prove myself to Eric."

"People duet all the time. It's no big deal. Why are you so against this?" he asked.

"Because, I don't want one ounce of fame. At all. I want a normal life."

"But you were meant for so much more," he nudged my arm with his.

"No, I wasn't. I was meant for college and a career. Not touring, partying, and random sex." I regretted the last one, as I looked over at John and he closed his eyes. Last night wasn't really random sex, but it shouldn't have happened.

"Not everyone is like me," John said under his breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," I placed my hand gently on his leg.

"It's okay. I'm not going to beg you to record this with me, but I think it would be something fun we could do, and something that I would be proud of."

"I would be proud of it too, John," I nodded. "So, I guess that means I am in," I said after a long silence. He smiled one of the biggest smiles I had ever seen him smile, and then pulled me into a close hug.

"I am so sorry about last night, Pey," he whispered again. "So, so, so sorry."

"Stop saying you are sorry," I pulled away slowly. "Don't be." He nodded. "So, when are we recording this?" I asked, focusing our conversation back on recording.

"Well, we can play it live, test it out on the audience if you want. Then we can either record when we get to New York, when we get to California or after we get back."

"Whenever, I don't care." I shrugged.

"I think I am more proud of this song than any I have ever written before," he smiled at me.

"It was because I too, am a lyrical genius. 2 lyrical geniuses are better than one."

John fell asleep soon after that and I went to find Kennedy. He was in the back lounge, getting owned by Garrett who was getting owned by Jared who was getting owned by Julia in Halo. I don't know why they even bothered to play against her. She was a machine. Just watching them play Halo made me think of Eric. I watched for a few minutes, laughing at the smack talk that was going down. I debated on what to do for a few minutes, and the made up my mind. I walked back to John's bunk, plucked his phone up and then locked myself in the tiny bathroom. I dialed the only person I wanted to talk to right now. It rang and rang and eventually went to voicemail. He really was mad at John, I guess.

"Hey, it's me. Just wanted to talk for a few minutes. I don't know if this is allowed, you know, with our whole 'time apart' thing, but I just really miss you already." I sat down on the floor, and pressed the phone harder against my ear so it wouldn't slip out. "I love you," I whispered and then hung up. It was still weird to hear those words come out of my mouth, but I think I could get used to it. The way it made me feel, saying those three words, was better than any feeling I had ever experienced. It was better because I knew I meant them. I jumped when the phone started ringing, and smiled when I saw it was Eric.

"Hello," I answered.

"Hey, miss me already?" he asked.

"Yes sir, I do." I smiled even wider.

"I'm kind of glad you called, I guess. We need to set the ground rules for our time apart."

"Oh," I sighed. Great. Rules.

"I don't think we should talk until the day you get back. I just feel like we really need this time to decide what we really want, and us talking everyday may hinder our decisions."

"Hinder our decisions?" I laughed. "Since when do you use words like 'hinder'?"

"Since right now. No emails, no phone calls, no texting, no contact. I will either see you the day you get back, or I won't."

"I guess that's fair." I sighed. The line went silent and I could hear Halvo's heavy breathing. "Hey, Eric.."

"Hm?"

"I really am sorry, for everything that I have put you through," I confessed, hugging my knees to my chest.

"I know you are. Sometimes in life, you just have to forget, and hopefully forget. It will be okay, Peyton. We will be okay," he assured me. I sighed a sigh of relief and nodded my head, like he could see me.

"I need to tinkle," Pat started banging on the door. Both Eric and I laughed.

"Well, I guess I will let you go," he told me. "I love you, Peyton. Don't forget that."

"I love you too," I replied, but by that time, he was already off of the line. I slipped the phone in my pocket and opened the door. Pat was doing the potty dance and I laughed harder than I had in a while. I slipped past him and figured there was nothing for me to do right now, so I laid down on the couch and took a nap. Soon we would be in New York. Somewhere I had always wanted to go. "Excited" didn't even compare to what I was right now.

"Plan is a go," Kennedy whispered into my ears. It scared the shit out of me and I jumped up from my peaceful snooze. I looked around, and the bus was almost empty, only Julia and Jared were in there.

"Okay Julia, here is the plan," Jared said, turning to her. This had to work, otherwise, this band wouldn't last another week.

We all four linked arms and walked to the venue. New York was beautiful, and totally different from anyplace I had ever been to. I grew up in Alabama and Arizona. They were the total opposite of New York. Once we were inside the venue, we wasted no time putting our plan into action. I stood right next to the utilities closet with my arms crossed, waiting to perform my task in this master plan. Soon enough, Pat came walking down the hallway.

"Pat!" I yelled in his direction. He nodded towards me and started walking my way.

"Julia is waiting for you in here, and she really needs to talk to you," I lied.

"But I just saw Julia not a minute ago," he looked confused.

"She's fast, just go," I said through gritted teeth. Now was not the time for logic. I opened the door and pushed him in there, putting a chair under the doorknob so he couldn't push it open with his toned arms. He started beating on the door, but I ignored it. He stopped after a while. Soon John came walking down the hallway and I called him over.

"John, can you do me a favor?" I asked him. He nodded, eyeing the chair propped under the doorknob.

"Well, I left my bag in this room earlier, but I can't get it. Do you know why?" I asked.

"Uh, no."

"Because there is a HUGE fucking spider in there. I don't want it to kill me, so would you be so kind as to retrieve it for me, you strong, strong man."

"Uh, Did you prop the door under the handle to keep the spider in, because that won't work," he chuckled, moving the chair.

"NO JOHN DO-" Pat called out, but he was too late. I pushed John in there and closed it and returned the chair with lightening speed. One left, and it was Julia's responsibility. She had to get Garrett in there. I soon heard voices coming down the hall, so I hid around the corner. Kennedy and Jared were already there.

"No, I don't think so," she was arguing with him. It was that cute flirty arguing that couples did.

"Well, I do. Stephen and Jess totally hooked up last night," he replied.

"And how do you know?" she asked.

"I don't. But they should." He responded. "Why is there a chair under that door. Why are there people beating on it? What is this?" he asked, running over to the door.

"I don't know. Check it out!" she replied, getting into position as he slid the chair away and opened the door. John and Pat tried to bust out, but soon, Kennedy, Jared, Julia and I forced them all in there. Julia and I guarded the door they boys all sat down in the cramped closet.

"Okay, here it is. Nobody is leaving until you guys fix everything." Julia informed them. Garrett groaned and Pat stood up.

"I don't want to be in here!" Pat yelled.

"Shut up Pat, we are in a tiny closet, there is no need to yell," Garrett told him.

"Shut up, Garrett," Pat replied.

"Both of you, shut up!" John said calmly. He looked at me. "I think this is a good idea, actually."

"You do?" Jared and Kenendy said at the same time.

"Yes. This band is all I have. It can't crumble. I won't let it."

"It's all any of us really have," Pat said.

"Not true, I have Julia," Garrett smiled at her and Pat rolled his eyes.

"So, I think we should go around and start with one problem you each have this band, and address it. Keep going from there." I jumped in, before things got ugly with Pat and Garrett.

"John, what do you think is one thing that needs to change," Jared asked him.

"I don't really have a problem with the band," he said.

"Nothing?" Kennedy asked him. "Not even me?"

"I thought we were cool, man," John asked.

"Well, we are. I just didn't know you really meant it."

"Why wouldn't I have meant it?" John raised his voice.

"Guys, stop it!" I butted in. "This is meant to fix problems, not create more."

"This is stupid, guys," Pat informed us.

"Okay, Pat, it's your turn. What is your current problem?"

"Garrett." He said without a moment of hesitation.

"For no reason," Garrett crossed his arms.

"Are you kidding me?" Pat asked him. "Okay, I guess I have a problem with Garrett and Julia."

"We all know that," John joined the conversation, when he shouldn't have.

"It's not fair. I don't even cheat on Julia, and the whole band turns their backs on me. Julia cheats on Garrett and she is forgiven. Nobody is mad at her. That is bullshit!"

"Okay," Julia kicked off of the wall and walked closer to the guys. "First of all, Garrett and I were not dating. So I did not cheat on him. You and I, we were. I made a mistake, yes, but you were going behind my back with Lauren!

"But I didn't do anything!" he pleaded.

"But you certainly were going to," she said. She looked hurt all over again. "It looks like we aren't going to make quick progress, I am going to go tell Jonathan to get someone to make sure all of The Maine's equipment gets set up," she sighed. Garrett gave her a small smile, and she returned it. She opened the door and slipped out. It was up to me, Kennedy, and Jared now. I had to play therapist.

"Well, Pat. I don't think you should be mad at Garrett." I told him.

"I can't help it. Julia was mine first!"

"She's not property!" Garrett shouted.

"I just miss her, and seeing you guys together, it's like a slap in the face."

"Maybe you should have treated her better," John jumped in, yet again, where he wasn't needed.

"Maybe you should stay out of this!" Pat yelled. "You guys had more drama than anyone in this band, why can't it be your turn!" Pat asked Kennedy and John.

"Because we are working on one problem at a time." I informed Pat.

"Oh right, because you were the cause of their drama and you don't want to be put on the spot." Pat nodded. Why was he being like this?

"No, because we need to fix every problem this band has, theirs will get addressed."

"Whatever," Pat sighed.

"Garrett, what is one thing you like about Pat?" Jared asked.

"I like that he usually lightens the mood. He is one hell of a person, and I consider him one of my brothers." Garrett confessed.

"I consider all of you my brothers," Pat said, lightening his tone.

"Me too," the rest of them said.

"Brothers fight, it happens, I just think we let all of ours get out of control," Garrett shrugged.

"Pat, one thing you like about Garrett?" I asked.

"This may sound weird, but I actually do like how you are with Julia. I did mess it up with her, and watching you two together, it hurts, but I know you really like her. Take care of her," Pat said, playing with his shoelace.

"I will, I promise," Garrett put his hand on Pat's shoulder. "Come here," Garrett smiled. They gave each other a hug and then the focus was put on John and Kennedy.

"Well, Kennedy. What do you hate about me?" he asked.

"I hate that you are the face of this band." Kennedy replied.

"We can all agree on that," Jared piped in. Garrett and Pat nodded.

"That wasn't my idea, though. You guys know that. I thought we were over this."

"We were, until you started acting like a cocky shit." Kennedy informed him.

"I didn't realize I was, but I will try to tone it down a little bit."

"And what's one think I should change?" Kennedy asked.

"Shave your face," John replied, with a straight face. Everyone, including Kennedy, erupted into a fit of laughter.

"Seriously," Kennedy chuckled.

"I don't know, really. I was mad as hell when we let a girl get between us. When you punched me on stage. When we didn't talk for a long time. When-"

"Okay, I get it. That was all in the past."

"Yeah. I just miss how close we were prior to this tour," John sighed. "Will we ever get back to how we were?"

Jared looked around the circle. "I think we are on our way," he smiled.

"One thing you like about John?" Jared asked.

"He is an inspirational fucker," Kennedy smiled.

"I like that you are one of the nicest guys I have ever met," John smiled back.

"Hug!" Pat shouted. So they did.

"Jared, do you have any problems with anything?" I asked him.

"Actually, no. I am just tired of all of the fighting. I don't have a problem with anything other than that. Kennedy, don't shave your pedostache. I hope mine looks like yours soon. How is it looking?"

"Just great, Jared Monstercock Monaco." I giggled.

"What does everyone like about Jared?" I asked.

"I like that he shreds hard." Pat said.

"Funniest guy I have ever met," Garrett answered.

"He's the hottest ginger in the world," John winked at him.

"He never let's life get him down. He is always positive and stoked about everything." Kennedy nodded.

"Aw, you guys. Group hug!" Jared said, pulling Pat and Kennedy in.

"Anything else anyone else wants to say?" Garrett asked.

"I do," I spoke up when nobody said anything.

"Go ahead," John smiled at me.

"I wanted to apologize."

"For what?" Pat asked.

"For the mess that both Julia, and myself have caused. Promise me something, guys."

"What?" they all asked.

"Next time you bring people on tour, for the love of Justin Richards, only take them if they have a penis. No girls. Too much drama." They all laughed and stood up.

"We love you girls," Kennedy informed me.

"I know you do, but we feel terrible." I said, opening the door. Julia was standing on the other side, about to open the door and I jumped.

"Shit, you scared me." I said, pressing my hand to my racing heart.

"Sorry!" she smiled. "Everything get fixed that fast?" she asked.

"Smooth sailing," Jared replied.

"Well, you guys go on in a few minutes."

"No worries, we got this," Kennedy said, throwing his arm over my shoulder.

"Good luck guys, we have to go tend to merch." I told them.

"Thank you, for doing that," John told us. We both nodded and parted ways with the boys.

"Hey, Peyton, wait!" John shouted after us. I stopped and turned around. He ran over to me. "Did you want to play our song tonight?" he asked.

"I don't know. We haven't practiced it much. I just think we may forget it or fuck it up."

"You forgot it already?" he asked.

"No way," I smiled.

"Then let's do it."

"It doesn't even have a name!"

"I will think of one before we play it," he told me. I nodded.

"Fine, let's do it." I sighed. He jumped up and down and ran back to catch up with the boys. I would be double nervous tonight. Singing something John and I wrote, that nobody had heard. Fuck.

I was so nervous, that I wasn't even paying attention doing my job.

"I asked for the blue one," the kid informed. I took back the grey one and handed her a black one on accident.

"Here," Julia said, stepping in. "Twenty." The girl handed me the money and then walked away.

"It will be okay, just sit down." Julia said rubbing my back lightly. I sat down and tried to remember the words to the song. I do this every time I am about to go on stage. I get over it, but this was worse than any other case of stage freight. This was partly my song. I watched The Summer Set close their set, and stood up.

"I have to go find John. I can't do this."

"You can do this. I heard the song. It was amazing. Just chill." Julia said, pushing me back down in the seat. I started chewing on my nails, fidgeting, doing anything to keep my mind off of singing. I shot up and ran backstage, into the boys dressing room. I didn't bother to knock.

"John!" I yelled, scanning the room for him.

"What?"

"I can't sing our song."

"This again? You can sing it. You will be perfect."

"We really haven't practiced it all. I just think we should stick to singing-"

"No," he interrupted me. "Just take a deep breath. We know the song backwards and forwards. We worked hard on it. It needs to be heard. If they hate it, well they hate it. If they love it, you will feel what I do every night. The reaction of people liking something you wrote, it doesn't get better than that. We are singing the song, and we will be amazing," he smiled at me. I nodded.

Walking onto that stage, well limping onto that stage, was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. I didn't even hear what John was saying to the crowd. I just held onto my microphone and stared at my feet. I heard him strumming the song on his acoustic guitar and I heard him sing, but I couldn't. He stopped playing and looked at me.

"Peyton?"

I looked over at him and took a deep breath. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Let's try this one more time," he said as he started strumming. This time, I lifted the mic up to my mouth and let the words roll off of my tongue. I didn't look at the crowd once, I stared at Julia the whole time. She was doing dumb stuff, like giving me the thumbs up, dancing, blowing me kisses. Anything to loosen me up. The song finally finished and the crowd exploded into applause. I looked over at John and he smiled at me.

"Told you they would love it," he said, giving me a hug. I smiled and hobbled off of the stage. I made my way back to the merch table, where Julia was talking to Stephen Gomez. They both gave me a high five.

This confirmed it. I had to record this song with John. There was no way to get out of it now. For the first time, I was okay with that. He was right. Hearing people react that way to something I wrote, was a high that I could get used to...


	25. Love Like This

"Shit," I mumbled as I slowly attempted to open my eyes. The light from the sun was shining right in my eyes through the window. I sat up and wiped my eyes, and I jumped as I heard shuffling coming beside me. I slowly turned my head to the side to see Cameron there, full on naked. Then I looked at myself, and I was in the same state.

"Oh my god…" I quietly mumbled. I buried my face into the palms of my hands, crying as quietly as I could. I DID NOT want to wake him up. I don't remember a lot last night, but obviously we had done too much.

I quietly arose and got myself out of the bed, taking the white bed sheet with me and wrapping it around my body. Cameron didn't move at all; he just stayed wrapped up in a ball, drooling on his pillow. I picked up all my clothes that were on the floor beside me, and I slowly made my way towards the door. My foot got caught on part of the sheet, and I fell down. As soon as I hit the ground, I didn't move because I was afraid that the bang I made woke him up. I held my breath as I heard shuffling coming from the bed, but it stopped after a few seconds, and I could hear Cameron's faint snore coming from the bed.

I swiftly got up, without making a sound, and sprinted for the door. I inched it open, and when I was on the other side, I inched it closed. I turned around and jumped. I wasn't expecting to see Peyton standing there, wearing the same white bed sheet I was. We both locked eyes, and said at the same time, "I messed up."

We roamed the halls, because we really needed to change before someone saw us, but the only place to change was the bathroom on the first floor. That was awesome. We hoped in the elevator and thank god, no one else had to get on it. When we reached the first floor, I stuck my head out of the elevator and looked both ways, to make sure no one was around.

"Coast is clear," I whispered. We ran across the lobby into the one person bathroom. We were about to play rock, paper, scissors to decide who gets to change first, but we heard Kennedy's voice coming around the corner, so we both hurried into the bathroom and locked the bathroom door behind us.

"So. You and Garrett?" Peyton asked me. I kept my eyes on myself as I slipped my bottoms back on. I didn't really want to answer her, and I'm sure she wouldn't want to even hear my answer, so I improvised.

"So, you and Eric?"

"No." she replied.

"You and Kennedy," I asked, putting my bikini top back on.

"Nope."

"You and Baby Go?"

"Nope."

"Well I am running out of people, because I KNOW it was not John O'Callaghan," I stated. She didn't say anything back to me; she just threw her sheet in the corner. This meant I was wrong.

"Well, please tell me you slept with Garrett," she demanded.

"I slept with Garrett," I replied. She smiled at me. Oh boy.

"Good. It was about time."

"You told me to tell you that, that doesn't make it true. I just did what you told me to."

"You slept with… no. No, I know you did not sleep with Cameron," she yelled at me.

"SHHHH. Jesus, Peyton. Yes, okay. I did sleep with Cameron," she replied as I tossed my sheet on top of Peyton's.

"Wow, we both really did screw up, didn't we," she said with a sigh.

"It's what we do best," I said as I opened the door. First thing we saw was an angry looking Kennedy.

"Hi Kenny," Peyton said with a smile. He just glared.

"You heard all of that, didn't you?" I asked, looking down at the ground.

"Yup," he replied.

"I am just going to go find Daisy," I mumbled, trying to walk away. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back, though.

"You slept with Cameron, again?" he asked me. I nodded, keeping my eyes to the floor.

"You slept with John?" he said to Peyton. She didn't say anything so I guess she nodded. I look up at him.

"I am very disappointed in both of you. How could you repeat a mistake over?" he asked, looking at me. Then he looked at Peyton. "And how could you lose something you were holding onto. I can't believe you lost it to John of all people!"

Both Peyton and I were about to cry, and Kennedy saw that. He took the mad look off his face and took us both in his arms. Then I heard Stephen Gomez talk behind us.

"Care to make this a foursome?" he asked.

"Someone is looking for you Peyton," Kennedy said. I pulled back from him and looked over at Stephen.

"Yeah, and someone has been looking for you all night, Julia," he said. Shit. Kennedy and Peyton walked off, and Stephen started walking in the opposite direction. He made a motion with his hand for me to follow him, so I did. Then I noticed something.

"Wait, wait, Stephen," I said, stopping.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I need…clothes," I murmured, looking down at me.

"Oh. Well … uh, here," he said, starting to take off his shirt.

"What're you doing?" I asked him as I watched him undress himself. I mean, he took off his shirt and his pants.

"You need clothes, so here, take mine," he answered as he tossed me his shirt and pants. I chuckled as I slipped on his clothes, that were a little too big for me, but I wore them anyways.

I followed pantsless Stephen into some type of business room, where Garrett was sitting. He looked like a worried dad who was waiting up for his daughter to get home from prom.

"I'll let you two be…_alooooone_," Stephen said as he left the room.

Garrett and I didn't say anything to each other for awhile. I just kept my eyes on my legs, because I was afraid to look at him in the eyes. I knew when I told him what happened he would probably scream fuck you and run off. He finally spoke up.

"Where did you go?"

"My room," I replied.

"With who?"

"Cameron." I looked up and he wasn't even looking at me. He was looking to the side, and his face looked like he was about to cry or something. I guess he knew what happened.

"Why?" he asked, looking at me. The look that was on his face… I cried instantly. I was expecting him to rush over and comfort me, just like he always does, but he stayed in his chair, just looking at me with that same expression on his face.

"I … I was drunk," I managed to get out. I could barely speak because my throat was getting very sore from my crying. Garrett quickly stood up.

"There's a thing called self control, Julia. Do you know what that is?" He was yelling at this point. I stood up and yelled back.

"Yes, Garrett! But I was drunk! I don't have a mind of my own when I'm drunk!"

"Then don't drink! Simple as that! Am I going to have to take all alcohol away from you?"

"You're not my father, Garrett!"

"No, I'm not, Julia. If I was your father, I would just walk out and not give a shit about what happens to you. But I care about you; a lot. More than I have ever cared about someone before. I knew letting you talk to Cameron again was a bad idea, but I didn't say anything because I didn't want to seem like a jealous prick. But now, you do this," he said in a lower tone.

"It was a mistake, Garrett. I barley even remember the night … I'm sorry," I murmured as I sat back down.

"So am I," he mumbled as he turned around and exited the room. Watching him leave was more heartbreaking than finding out about Pat and Lauren. I would have followed him, but I felt like if I were to stand up, my knees would be so weak that I would just fall.

I stayed sitting in that room, alone, crying for what seemed like forever. I didn't look for anyone, and I guessed that no one was looking for me either. I heard a faint pitter patter in what seemed like the lobby. I didn't worry about it, too much. I figured it was probably just a kid running around or something. But the sound kept getting closer and closer to the room I was in, when finally I saw what was making that noise.

"Daisy! How'd you find me?" I asked her, picking her up and letting her run around in my lap. I didn't know where she had been since I left last night, or how she found me, but I was glad she did. Watching her run around, being all jolly without a care in the world made me smile.

I heard a very quiet knock come from the doorway of the room. I looked over to see Jonathan standing there.

"Can I come in?" he asked. I nodded, and he made his way to the chair that Garrett sat in earlier. Daisy jumped from my lap to his, and lied down. Jonathan started petting her softly, and then spoke up.

"Last night was crazy, huh?"

"Yeah …" I replied. I wanted to ask him if Garrett went and told everyone about what happened, but if he knew, I'm sure he'd mention it.

"I don't remember anything from last night," he stated.

"I don't either," I mumbled.

"I think you slept with someone," he reminded me. Thanks.

"I know…is that all you came in here for?"

"No, sorry. Daisy wanted to see you, and I wanted to check up on you. I knew you'd be upset."

I felt sick to my stomach. "Is he telling everyone?"

"Yeah, he is." I felt like crying again. I knew he was mad at me, but this was just awful.

"I didn't mean to hurt him like this…" I murmured.

Jonathan looked at me like I just spoke another language. "Hurt him? He's going around bragging about it."

"Bragging? Why would he be…who told you?"

"Cameron did." Oh hell no.

"Do you happen to know where he is?" I asked him. I could feel that my face was getting red from anger.

"He's … near the busses, why do-"

I sprinted up and out of the room before he even finished that sentence. I could hear him calling after me, but I needed to find Cameron, and it needed to be now.

When the busses were in sight, my speed walk got a little faster. I could see Cameron, and he was standing with Kyle, Austin, and Stephen, and when they noticed me walking towards them, they all broke into smiles.

"Shouldn't you be in Cameron's clothes, not Stephen's?" Kyle joked as I approached them.

"Shouldn't you shut the fuck up and mind your own business?" I spat back at him.

"Whoa, whoa. Seems like someone's nerve got struck," Austin said to Kyle.

"Would everyone but Cameron please leave? Now?" I said to them.

"Oh, round two," Stephen mumbled as they all went to FTSK's bus. I turned to face Cameron, who looked happy. Hell no.

"What is your fucking deal?" I yelled at him.

"My deal?" he said with a chuckle. "I'm not the one screaming at everything in my path."

"I'm not the one boasting about taking advantage of a drunken girl!"

"Taking advantage? We both wanted it last night."

"Excuse me? I don't even remember anything that happened last, Cameron. How could I possibly have even known I wanted to do anything if I don't even remember anything?"

Cameron crossed his arms and his faced tensed up. "Last time this happened, you were sure you wanted it, remember?"

"Are you serious? Last time, yes, I wanted it Cameron. I had been waiting forever, and I wanted it more than anything. I was in love with you. But you left me. You didn't try to contact me in any way possible. And then now, it was a bombardment of feelings rushing back to me. Old feelings I shouldn't have been feeling again. So I had a lot to drink without realizing it. And then this happens," I said, sniffling, with a few tears rolling down.

"I still love you, Julia. I'm still in love with you. I want us to be together again."

"That's not going to happen, Cameron. I will be your friend, but we can't be more than that."

"Why not? Just let me get it right with you. I know we can be something special."

I looked around me to make sure no one was hiding around the corner or something, because I didn't want anyone to hear what I was about to say. I hadn't discussed it with anyone. Not even Peyton.

"I'm in love with someone, Cameron."

He didn't say anything back to me. He just looked down at the ground, nodded, and turned on his heels. He started walking back towards the hotel. When he reached the door to go in, Garrett exited. They both stopped and just stared at each other, and finally I saw Cameron mumbled something to him as he went back inside the hotel.

I thought Garrett was just going to slide past me and enter the bus, but he pulled me into his arms and gave me the tightest hug I have ever received in my life.

"I'm sorry," he said to me, still having me in his lock.

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong," I murmured.

He pulled away, but kept his hands on my shoulders. "When you needed someone the most, I just walked off, thinking about myself. I've never done that before, and I'm sorry." He pulled me in again for a hug.

"You had a right to walk off, Garrett. I'm sorry that all this happened."

"Let's just forget everything happened, okay? That might be best for both of us," he said, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the bus.

"Good deal."

We entered the bus to find John in the midst of throwing a glass at the wall.

"What the hell your problem?" Kennedy yelled at him.

"Every fucking thing is my problem. I hate myself, I hate this tour, and I hate everything!" he screamed back.

"I'm getting out of this," Jared said, passing by Garrett and me and exiting the bus. I noticed Pat in the back, and his eyes were dead set on mine and Garrett's hands.

"Really, Garrett?" Pat spoke up.

"Really what, Pat?" Garrett asked.

"How about you get off of Julia?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, fuck this," Kennedy murmured as he also exited the bus.

"What the hell, Pat?" I chimed in. "You don't have any right to tell anyone that."

"I didn't do anything physical. You on the other hand, you had sex with your ex-boyfriend when you're seeing Garrett!"

"We're not together!" Garrett yelled at him. "You, Pat, you were going to get back with your ex-girlfriend without even telling Julia the truth. Did you really think you could get away with having two girlfriends?"

John was sitting down on the couch, and I calmly sat beside him, just watching my best friend and my ex-boyfriend go at it.

"I was going to get rid of Lauren! Julia was a bigger priority for me, and I wanted her! I still do, but your sorry ass is in my way!" Pat yelled, inching closer to Garrett.

"My 'sorry ass' is protecting her from liars like you!"

"What I did wasn't even half as bad as what John was doing to Peyton, yet you're bitching at me?"

"Hey!" John yelled as he rose up. "What happened between Peyton and I, is mine and Peyton's business, so don't bring me up into your little high school drama fight. Fucking ass." He walked off and went into his bunk.

"Good job, Pat," Garrett mumbled.

"You know what? Fuck you, Garrett," he said. Then he looked over at me. "And fuck you too, Julia." He walked past us and headed for the exit, but stopped as he was about to exit. He looked back at Garrett. "You can have her. I don't like fucking whores, anyway." He then turned back around and exited the bus.

Garrett walked over and sat down beside me and pulled me into his chest, where I cried. I thought coming on this tour was going to be fun and adventurous, but it was turning into a complete disaster. Each day something terrible happened. Now it had come to where the whole band was falling apart, and I felt like I was somewhat responsible. If I would have stayed home, they'd still be the best of friends, creating music and making everyone, even themselves, happy. This was just horrible.

I heard someone come in, but I didn't look up to see who it was. I just stayed in Garrett's protective grip, and cried until all of my tears had run dry.

A long time passed, and I had changed out of Stephen's clothes and into my PJ's. Kenny said that he was staying on the FTSK bus for the night, and for the moment, I was fine with that.

We were sitting in the front room along with Garrett and Jared, just talking about nothing in particular, which I loved. Garrett was sitting beside me with his arm wrapped around my shoulder, and Jared and Kennedy were across from us.

"I don't see how you can put ketchup on a taco, Julia," Jared said.

"She puts ketchup on_ everything_," Garrett stated.

"I really like ketchup!" I defended.

"Yeah, but that's like putting mustard on … on... a donut or something," Garrett said.

"You shouldn't bring ketchup in to the world of Mexican food," Jared remarked.

"I bet she puts ketchup on … Doritos or some shit like that," Kennedy murmured. I didn't say anything back to them; I just looked over at Garrett, who was already looking at me.

"Ew! She does!" Jared exclaimed, making an 'ew' face.

"I think it's good!" I frowned.

"Weirdo," Garrett mocked. Kennedy was agreeing with him or something, but I wasn't paying attention because I heard guitar playing coming from John's bunk, where Peyton was. I was trying to hear what she was singing, but then my daze was interrupted by Garrett poking my side.

"Hm? What?" I mumbled as I turned to look at him.

"Jared was asking you something. Did you not hear him?" he asked.

"No, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"We could tell," Kennedy remarked. I kicked him in the leg.

"Dick head," he murmured. I just giggled.

"So what was it, Jared?" I asked, looking over at him.

"We all just said our stripper names, and now we need yours," he said.

"Stripper names?"

"Yeah, your stripper name is the name of your first pet, and then the first word of the name of the street you live on," Jared said.

"Oh." I thought about it, and then I laughed out loud after I realized what it was.

"What is it?" Kennedy asked.

"Mine would be Big Boy Thompson," I managed to say through all my chuckles. The boys started laughing, too, but I was again sidetracked by the sound of Peyton and John.

"I'll be right back," I said to Garrett as I stood up. I tip-toed over to John's bunk to try and see what was going on. I couldn't hear anything that was being said besides 'record', 'no' and 'yes'. Then I could hear it clearly.

"Not the same. We are recording this and you have no say in the matter," John said.

"Whatever. Julia has to play guitar on the song, or it's a no deal," Peyton stated.

"FUCK YES!" I screamed, not even meaning to.

"She can do backup vocals too," John added. I started jumping up and down. This was going to be awesome!

"Go away, Julia!" Peyton yelled at me. Doo-doo head. I walked away and re-joined my boys on the couch, except this time I laid over Kennedy and Jared.

"Ugh, Julia, get off," Kennedy pouted, poking at my side.

"Nope, I can't."

"On the count of three, push her," Jared said, looking at Kennedy.

"You wouldn't," I mumbled.

"One, two, three!" Jared counted, and there I went. On to the floor.

"Really, guys?" I said as I pulled myself up.

"You wouldn't get off!" Kenny defended.

"I'll get you back," I stated.

"Halo?" Garrett asked.

All three of us nodded and headed to the back of the bus.

"Shall we bet on this?" Jared asked right before we started the game.

"Last time we bet, I had to wear panties on stage," Garrett murmured.

"Yeah, but it's not just you playing. So we all have a good chance," Kennedy stated.

"Okay. If any of us three win … you have to … play an acoustic song on stage tomorrow. Topless," Garrett said to me.

"Wow, okay. Dick. If I win ... I don't know, I'll figure something out. Let's just play," I said. And so we went.

I was winning over everyone, as usual. Peyton came in after a few minutes and watched us, but soon left. Who knows why.

Eventually, I ended up winning the game. Shocker.

"So, what do we have to do?" Garrett asked.

"Nothing," I replied.

"Nothing?" Jared repeated.

"Yep. Nothing."

"Oh, well, okay. Good game, guys," Kennedy said as he left the room. Jared followed soon after, and Garrett stood up, but I pulled him back down.

"What?" he asked, looking at me, confused.

"I won, right?"

"Yes, but you just said –"

"I didn't want all three of you to do something. I just want one person to do something."

"I'm guessing that's me?" he said with a smile.

"How'd you know?" I asked with a chuckle.

"I know you all too well."

"Well, do you know what I want, then?"

Garrett just sat there, smiling, and staring at me. I was going to repeat myself, or just tell him, but then he started inching closer to me. He just kept getting closer and closer, when finally our noses were touching. He put both of his hands on my face, and then whispered, "No, but I know what I want."

Then, he kissed me. Something we both have wanted for a long time. It was filled with so much passion; something I've never felt with any kiss I have received.

It felt right.

We both pulled away, and just smiled at each other. Both of us, without saying a word, stood up, and followed each other to Garrett's bunk, hand in hand. I got in, and then he slid in and closed the curtain behind him. He pulled me in close to him, and I made sure I had a tight grip on him, too. I then fell asleep to the sound of his heart beat. When I awoke, we would be in New York City.

I woke up to the feeling of Garrett kissing my forehead.

"Shit, did I wake you up?" he asked, pushing some hair out of my face. I looked at him, and he was already dressed and cleaned up.

"That's fine … where are you going?"

"We're here. I went ahead and got ready so I wouldn't have to clash with anybody on the bus."

"Oh…well, I guess I'll see you inside, then?" I asked him.

"Yeah, you will," he replied with a smile. He walked off, leaving the curtain open. I just lay there, hoping someone would walk by soon or something so I could ask who was up, because I really didn't want to get up at that moment. Luckily I didn't have to wait too long before Jared walked by. He saw me staring that way and poked his head in.

"Good morning sunshine," he said with a grin.

"Mornin' JMCM. Who is up?" I asked him, sitting up.

"Everyone is. Well, I haven't seen John this morning, so that means he's up somewhere. Oh, and Peyton's still asleep."

"Okay, thank you," I said to him. He nodded and walked off.

I got up, changed, did my hair and all that shit, and sat down in the front room with Kennedy, who just woke up Peyton, and Jared.

"Okay, here's the plan," Jared said, turning to me. I sat there and listened to this plan they had created so that this band could be saved. It sounded great, and hopefully it would work.

We all four linked arms as we walked to the venue. The air was nice and cool, and it was amazing. Jared, Kenny, and Peyton got into place. My job was to find Garrett, and get him in out meeting spot.

I finally found him in the venue's café, snacking on a Hostess Twinkie.

"Give me some of that," I demanded, snatching the sweet treat out of his hand and taking a bite.

"Hey!" he yelled, taking it back. I chuckled at him.

"Will you come take a walk with me?" I asked him.

"Okay," he replied, standing up.

We were almost to the trap spot. The whole time we were walking, we were just talking about random shit.

"I think Jess and Stephen did the nasty last night. What about you?" he asked me.

"No, I don't think so," I replied.

"Well, I do. Stephen and Jess totally hooked up last night," he said.

"And how do you know?" she asked.

"I don't. But they should," he said. He turned his attention to the utility door, which was being banged on by the people inside.

"Why is there a chair under that door? Why are there people beating on it? What is this?" he asked, running over to the door.

"I don't know. Check it out!" I replied, getting into position as he slid the chair away and opened the door. John and Pat tried to bust out, but Kenny, Jared, Peyton, and I guarded the door. I propped myself up on the wall.

"Okay, here it is. Nobody is leaving until you guys fix everything." I said to them. Garrett groaned.

"I don't want to be in here!" Pat yelled.

"Shut up Pat, we are in a tiny closet, there is no need to yell," Garrett told him.

"Shut up, Garrett," Pat replied.

"Both of you shut up," John said. He looked over at Peyton. "I think this is a good idea, actually."

"You do?" Jared and Kennedy said at the same time.

"Yes. This band is all I have. It can't crumble. I won't let it."

"It's all any of us really have," Pat said.

"Not true, I have Julia," Garrett smiled at me and Pat rolled his eyes.

"So, I think we should go around and start with one problem you each have this band, and address it. Keep going from there." Peyton said.

"John, what do you think is one thing that needs to change," Jared asked him.

"I don't really have a problem with the band," he said.

"Nothing?" Kennedy asked him. "Not even me?"

"I thought we were cool, man," John asked.

"Well, we are. I just didn't know you really meant it."

"Why wouldn't I have meant it?" John raised his voice.

"Guys, stop it!" Peyton chimed in. "This is meant to fix problems, not create more."

"This is stupid, guys," Pat informed us.

"Okay, Pat, it's your turn. What is your current problem?"

"Garrett."

"For no reason," Garrett said, crossing his arms.

"Are you kidding me?" Pat asked him. "Okay, I guess I have a problem with Garrett and Julia."

"We all know that," John said, butting in.

"It's not fair. I don't even cheat on Julia, and the whole band turns their backs on me. Julia cheats on Garrett and she is forgiven. Nobody is mad at her. That is bullshit!"

"Okay," I pushed myself off the wall and walked closer to everyone. "First of all, Garrett and I were not dating. So I did not cheat on him. You and I, we were. I made a mistake, yes, but you were going behind my back with Lauren!

"But I didn't do anything!" he defended.

"But you certainly were going to," I mumbled. "It looks like we aren't going to make quick progress; I am going to go tell Jonathan to get someone to make sure all of The Maine's equipment gets set up." Garrett gave me a small smile, and I kind of returned it. I opened the door, slid out, and tried to find Jonathan.

It didn't take me that long to find Jonathan outside playing with Daisy. He was a better mother to that dog than I was.

"Hey Jonathan..." I mumbled as I walked over to him.

"Hello."

"Thank you for looking after her. I'm doing a bad job at this," I said to him.

"It's not a big deal at all. I like her a lot," he replied.

"Do you want to look after her for a little while more?" I asked him.

"You're a card, you know that?" he joked.

"I know. Can you do me one more favor?"

"Anything."

"Make sure someone set's up The Maine's shit. The band is busy right now,," I said. I turned around and started to walk back towards the venue.

"Why? What're you doing?" he yelled after me.

"Saving them."

I walked back to the utility closet and made my back inside.

"Shit, you scared me." Peyton said.

"Sorry!" I said with a smile. "Everything get fixed that fast?"

"Smooth sailing," Jared replied.

"Well, you guys go on in a few minutes."

"No worries, we got this," Kennedy said, throwing his arm over Peyton's shoulder.

"Good luck guys, we have to go tend to merch," Peyton said.

"Thank you for doing that," John said. We both nodded at them and parted ways. John yelled after Peyton, though, and I just walked on to the merch table. I went to see that the table was already set up, and Garrett was standing beside it.

"I KNOW you didn't do this," I stated.

"No, but I made sure it was done," he replied. I walked up to him, smiled, and hugged him.

"You're the greatest, you know that?" I said to him.

He chuckled and said, "I just love to make you smile."


	26. I'm Not Saying Goodbye

"We've been at this for hours," I whined, hanging the earphones on the stand. Recording was definitely not as fun as it sounded.

"You're almost there, just clear your mind. Stop thinking about anything other than this song. You are so close, Peyton." John said over the loud speaker. The tour was almost over. A part of me was sad, but a larger part of me was ecstatic. We were in a professional recording studio in California. We bought 12 hours worth of studio time, but they were almost up. I sighed. Instead of making it just one acoustic guitar and two voices, we had the rest of the band, along with Julia, record the back track on the song. She mastered it in two takes. She was a pro at this, I however, was just the opposite.

"Can we take a break?" I asked John. I watched him through the window, shaking his head.

"No, we only have an hour left. None of your takes are good, Peyton. What is going on?" he asked me.

"I don't know! This is scary," I confessed, looking around the big empty recording booth. "Is there anywhere smaller we could record?" I asked. John thought for a moment, and then talked to the producer sitting next to him. The producer nodded and walked away. John stood up and entered the recording booth, gently closing the door behind him.

"I have a few ideas," he informed me. He lightly started rubbing my shoulders and I closed my eyes, waiting for him to tell me his ideas.

"Frank is setting up a small booth similar to the one I recorded Black and White in. It is tiny, but not as scary."

"Alright. What are your other ideas?" I asked him.

"I will sing with you."

"You already recorded your part," I told him, as if he already didn't know.

"Sometimes it's easier when you aren't alone," he sighed. That seemed like a weighted sentence. He meant that in more ways than just recording.

"Are you okay today?" I asked, turning around to face him. He dropped his hands and nodded.

"Alright, let's go do this." I smiled at him. We walked down the hallway to a small room. It was smaller than the utilities closet we had that band intervention in back in New York.

"Are we both going to fit?" I asked him.

"Yeah. It won't be comfortable by any means, but it will be fine," John said, pulling the curtain back. It was dark, except for one tiny light on the stand. John stuck his head out and gave the thumbs up to Frank. I put the headphones on and waited until the song filled my ears. I watched John as he sang the first verse, waiting for my cue. I started singing, but I knew that my voice was still off. I stopped singing and looked at John. He stuck his head out to tell Frank to stop recording. We both took our headphones off and I sat down on a stool.

"This is hopeless. What is wrong with me?" I leaned back against the wall.

"Your voice is tired. I will be right back," he told me, exiting the sound booth. God he smelled extra good today. If I were to guess, he did it for me. I knew how he felt about me, and being this close to each other, was not good for me. I was still dead set on proving to Eric that I could be who I once was. But John smelled so god damn good.

"Here," he said, pulling open the curtain and thrusting a steaming cup of hot tea into my hands. It spilled over the brim and I stood up instantly, pretty much throwing the mug on the stool.

"Ouch!" I yelled, cradling my hand against my chest.

"I am so sorry!" he cried out, grabbing my hand. "Holy shit, I am sorry," he said, lightly kissing my hand.

"It's okay," I replied, lightly pulling it out of his grasp. I grabbed the cup of tea and started sipping it. I didn't realize my throat hurt, but the tea soothed it. I set the cup on the floor and looked at John.

"Let's not record this next take, let's just practice one time, no pressure, to see if we can warm up your voice," he suggested. I nodded and picked up my headphones. He made the motion to Frank to playback the song. This time, I was so on, it wasn't even funny.

"That was so amazing!" John high-fived me.

"Too bad we weren't recording that," I sighed.

"We were. I wanted to see if it was actually recording that scared you. Obviously it is, because you almost nailed that. I think we need one more take, though. Just in case."

"We recorded that?" I laughed. "Amazing. Okay, one more take. I don't need you in here anymore," I informed John.

"Ouch!" he faked hurt, and gave me a hug.

"I am proud of you," he told me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, I look back at camp and how terrified you were to sing, even in front of me. Now look at you, you are singing in front of sold out venues, recording a song with me. I am just proud of you."

"Well, I am proud of you." I looked up at him, still embraced in our hug. "I always knew you would make it big. I want to thank you. If it wasn't for you, I would have never realized how much I love singing."

He smiled and let go of me. "Alright, let's finish this. We are almost out of studio time." I poked my head out of the curtain as he went and saw Julia and the rest of the guys out there. They all smiled at me and started cheering me on. I laughed and went to record the last take. I did it, in my opinion, flawlessly. This song meant so much to me, and if I had all the time in the world to work on it, I don't think I could get it any better than the way it sounded when Frank played it all back for all of us to listen. It was perfection. I even got teary eyed. John laughed and pulled me close to him.

"Good job, kid," he whispered.

"You too," I smiled at him.

"This sounds fucking sick," Jared said, nodding his head.

"Sick," Pat nodded in agreement.

"Thanks guys," I smiled.

"Celebratory drinks!" Kennedy yelled.

"Go ahead guys, I have to talk to Peyton," John said. They all left and so did Frank. I sat down on the desk and waited for John to say whatever it was he had to.

"I really don't think you know how excited I am for people to hear this," John told me, looking at all of the knobs and levers on the sound board.

"Me too," I told him. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?" I asked standing up.

"No," he shook his head and finally looked at me.

"Well, what else?" I asked. He took a deep breath and closed the gap between us.

"What are you doi-" but my sentence was cut off with his lips, almost forcefully finding mine. I pulled away and just looked at him.

"I don't want to part ways when we get home tomorrow. I don't want you to go meet Eric," he rested his forehead on mine. He grabbed both of my hands, and swung them lightly between us. "I love you," he whispered. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. I just stood there, glancing towards the door, wishing I could dash out of it before John said anything else.

God he smelled good.

"I know you don't want to hear that, and I know that you don't want me, but I just felt like I needed to tell you that," he confessed after he figured I wasn't going to say anything.

"I know you love me, John. You told me already. I just really don't know what I am supposed to say here," I said, finally looking up at him.

"This song, it's not just a_ song_ for me. It's so much more. It's not just words. It's how I feel," he said, letting go of one of my hands, and gently running his fingers through my hair.

"John," I sighed, lifting my hands and gently pushing him away. He looked hurt, and his pained face hurt me. "When we get home tomorrow, I am going to meet Eric. I know you don't want me to, but don't you want me to be happy?"

"Of course I do. I just know that we could be happy together."

"I love Eric," I shrugged, sitting down on the desk.

"I know. I know." He sighed. "If you knew how much I loved you, Eric wouldn't be an issue. I can give you so much more than he can."

I shook my head and wrapped my arms around him. "You will always be one of my best friends. That's really all I can give you."

"Let's go find everyone else," he pulled away from me.

"Fine," I sighed. He walked all the way to the venue keeping at least a three foot distance between us.

We met up at the bar inside of the venue. It was their last show, and they were pumped. We all stood around a table with our drinks in the air as Kennedy gave us a toast.

"To the band, for getting this far and working through our problems. To this being our last show of tour, and may we, for the love of god, rock hard. To Julia, for being a genius on the guitar and for making our Garrett such a happy boy. To John and Peyton, for recording one of the best songs I have ever heard. And to me, in hopes that I get laid tonight!" he yelled, and we all laughed. Everyone clanked their glasses of various alcohols, except for Pat, Garrett and myself, who all had water. Julia and I only had one drink, and then we parted ways to go set up shop. We unloaded the heavy boxes out of the trailer and carried them inside. I didn't have to use my crutches anymore, thank Justin Richards. After we set up merch, we didn't feel like hanging out with the boys. We needed girl time.

"Are you ready to be home?" I asked her. She shrugged.

"Nothing's really waiting for me there. My home is wherever Garrett is, I guess." She replied, sitting down in a chair. I sat down in mine too.

"Are you ready to be home?" she asked. "Wait, don't answer that. I already know the answer," she chuckled. I smiled.

"I don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight." I confessed. "Tomorrow is the start of the rest of my life. I'm so ready for it."

"Good," she smiled. Out of nowhere, one of my heroes walked up. I got a legit boner just looking at him.

"Hi, are you Peyton and Julia?" he asked us. I nodded. "John said that I could set up my merch with you guys, since I don't have anyone to look after it. Do you mind?" he asked.

"No, we don't mind," Julia said. He lifted a box onto the table and I couldn't help but stare at his mustache, in all of its glory.

"Thank you," he smiled at us. "I am Austin," he held out his hand. Julia shook it first and then I did. I didn't let go. Austin stared at his hand for a few seconds, and then pulled it back. I blushed, because I didn't realize that I was still holding onto it. "I need to go sound check, but I hope we can talk after the show."

"I.. I.. me too," I stuttered. He smiled and turned to walk away. Julia was laughing so hard, she was practically rolling on the floor.

"Oh my god, I made an ass of myself in front of Austin Gibbs. What is my life?" I asked, face palming.

"Your life is lame," she was laughing so hard she was snorting.

"How does Garrett even like you with all of that snorting?" I practically yelled and then joined her in laughing.

After we calmed down, we talked for a while until people started coming in. I was in such a good mood; I didn't care if they were snotty, spoiled 14 year olds. I waited patiently until Austin Gibbs played. His music meant so much to me. He was, without a doubt, one of my favorite artists. He finally took the stage and the second I heard him play his harmonica, I got goose bumps. He was one of my heroes, there was no doubt about it.

I was so caught up watching Austin, that I nearly jumped 10 feet in the air when someone came up behind me and whispered "Guess who," in my ear.

"Shit, you scared me," I gasped, trying to catch my breath. "Um, John Gomez."

"Nope," he chuckled. I would know that chuckle anywhere. He was my god, after all.

"Holy shit, Justin!" I spun around and practically jumped on him. I looked over to where Julia was, and smiled to find her arms wrapped around Nicholas Santino.

"How have you been?" he asked, stealing my chair. I shrugged.

"That great?" Nick asked, leaning against the merch table.

"She's just ready to get home tomorrow," Julia piped in. I nodded.

"Good. It is all Halvo talks about. I can't wait until you guys finally unite so he will shut up," Justin laughed. I smiled. It made me happy to know that he was as excited as I was.

"Are you guys playing tonight?" I asked. I didn't know Austin was, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were.

"Nah. Just catching a ride to Arizona. We have a meeting with Tim tomorrow." Justin replied. I was bummed that they weren't playing, but stoked that they were riding with us to Arizona. Nick turned to Julia to start a conversation of their own, so I plopped down on Justin's lap and laid my head on his shoulder. That was the good thing about Justin. He was always there for you when you needed to talk, no judgment.

"Spill," he smiled, leaning his head on top of mine. So I did. I told him everything that had happened with John that morning. We talked for what seemed like hours. Somehow I ended up with my legs thrown over one of the arms of the fold out chair, my back resting on the other side, still sitting on top of him. We were deep in discussion until John calling my name from on stage pulled my attention away. I looked over at Justin, letting him know our conversation was far from over.

"Knock 'em dead, kid," he smiled. I grabbed Julia's hand and told Nick to watch the stand. He nodded and watched us run up to the stage.

"What are you doing?" Julia asked me.

"Last night of tour, you are playing." I yelled behind me. John Gomez handed her his acoustic guitar, and I grabbed a microphone.

"We're going to play a song that Peyton and I wrote. It's called 'All Over Again.' I hope you guys enjoy it."

All I could think about was this morning and how awkward it was between John and I, and singing the song at the moment, didn't sound appealing.

"Wait," I said into my mic. John looked at me with a confused look.

I ran offstage to say something to John Gomez. He looked at me like I was crazy, but nodded and headed off to the merch stand. I walked back on stage and waited until John reached the table.

"I don't know if you guys noticed, but we have two of my favorite people on the planet here tonight. You may know them. Together they make up 2 out of the 4 members of a little band called 'A Rocket to the Moon.'" I smiled towards them. They both shook their heads. I rolled my eyes and looked over at John. He rolled his eyes at me, but I didn't care.

"Who wants to hear them play a song?" I asked the crowd. They all cheered extremely loud.

"But it's the middle of our set," John practically yelled into his microphone. I shrugged. John walked offstage, but the rest of the band stayed. Justin and Nick made their way onto the stage and Nick wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He stole my mic.

"I am tired of A Rocket to the Moon songs. Anybody in the mood for some Brighten?" I looked over at Justin, but he was already looking at me, smiling. I smiled back. He stepped up to John's mic and strummed his guitar, making sure it was in tune.

"Peyton can pick the song," he said, absentmindedly tuning the instrument.

I thought about it for a moment, and then knew which one I wanted.

"What She Really Wants," I answered. He nodded and started playing the song. Soon, the whole band and Julia picked up and joined in on the song. It sounded amazing. Nick and I shared a microphone, and even though my voice cracked on a few notes, I didn't care.

My life was finally back on track. I was seeing Eric tomorrow.

The rest of the night was a blur. I halfway remember peeing in some bushes. I definitely remember petting Austin Gibbs' mustache. I remember John catching Phil and some chick getting it on in his bunk. It was the last night on tour, and I was with some of my favorite people in the world. Of course I was going to partake in the festivities. Did I feel bad about it? Not really. I didn't do anything morally corruptive. I promised Halvo I would drink less, and I had. The only thing was that the second hangover was definitely worse than the first. We were almost to Arizona when I woke up. I was lying on one of the couches, Justin was on the other and Nick was lying in the floor between us. I yawned and sat up, wishing I hadn't. I let my head fall back on my pillow. I wish I hadn't have done that either.

"Stop moving. You are too loud and my head is killing me," I heard someone mumble. I looked over at Justin, who had his hands over his face, shielding his sensitive eyes from the light.

"I wasn't even that loud!" I whispered.

"You don't have to yell, shhhh," he whispered back.

"Fuck you guys, I was sleeping. Stop being so loud," Nick mumbled.

"Peyton, can I talk to you?" I looked up and saw John leaning against the wall. I didn't want to talk, but I guess we needed to. I stood up slowly and tripped over Nick, my whole body plummeting onto Justin.

"FUCK!" Justin yelled, and I giggled.

"Shhh, inside voices." I whispered as I stood up and followed John to the back room. He closed the door and I sat down on one of the couches, waiting for him to say something.

"I don't know where to start. I am so mad at you right now," he informed me, pacing back and forth.

"Mad at me? What did I do?" I asked.

"You have been doing stuff all tour during our sets that look unprofessional for us and you don't even care. Like last night, bringing Justin and Nick up there in the middle of our set. Why?" he asked. "Couldn't you just sing the damn song with me?"

"No," I sighed. "I didn't want to."

"Why not?" He looked hurt.

"Because yesterday in the recording studio, you freaked me out with all of that 'I love you' bullshit. That song is about love and second chances, and singing it with you after everything, I don't know. You said that song is more than just a song to you. It's how you felt, and I am sorry, John, I just don't feel the same way."

"That didn't give you the right to bring Justin and Nick up there."

"You're right," I stood up and threw my hands in the air. "My bad. I screwed up, again." The bus came to a stop, and I guess that meant we made it to Arizona. "Thank you Justin Richards!" I exclaimed, throwing the door open.

"Thanks for what?" Justin asked.

"Um, you know. For things," I mentally hated myself for forgetting they were on the bus. I ran down the aisle and threw the bus door open. The heat hit me so hard, but I didn't care. I skipped and grabbed my suitcase out of the storage under the bus. My dad was supposed to pick me up, but I didn't see him. He was always late though. I sat down on my suitcase, waiting. Almost everyone's ride was already there, waiting. Julia left with Garrett and Trey. John's brother Ross was there to pick him up. Kennedy rode home with Jared and Tessa.

"We won't leave you here." Justin informed me, pulling up his bag to sit on. Pat, Justin and Nick were all waiting on Tim to arrive.

"Thanks guys." I smiled at them.

Thirty minutes after Tim arrived, Nick handed me his phone. It was too hot to be sitting outside, and I needed to find out what was taking my dad so long.

I dialed the number I knew all so well, and felt my heart sink a little when it went straight to voicemail.

"He's not answering," I sighed. "Do you guys mind giving me a ride to my apartment?" I asked.

"No problem," Tim smiled.

Being smushed in the back between Nick and Justin might be some girls dream, but not mine. It wasn't that I didn't find them attractive, because believe me, I definitely do. It was the fact that they smelt delightful, and I hadn't showered in a few days. It was a little on the embarrassing side.

We pulled up to my apartment and Justin stepped out of the car to let me out. He grabbed my suitcase for me.

"I'll walk you to the door. Just in case some psycho killer is waiting for you in there after being gone for a month," he smiled. I laughed and nodded. As soon as I opened the door to our apartment, I realized how much I had missed being home. Everything was as we left it, so I hugged Justin goodbye.

"When do you go back to California?" I asked him before we pulled away.

"Either tomorrow or Sunday. We aren't here for long."

"Well, we need to get together before you go."

"Of course we will. Have fun tonight," he smiled and walked out. I closed the door and fell onto the couch. I looked over at the table and saw my cell phone sitting there. I didn't feel like listening to everything right now.

Two hours later, I was sitting under the gazebo. It took my car a few tries before the engine finally turned. It had been sitting for a month.

I wondered how long it would be before Halvo got here. Not long I hope. My make-up was already starting to run and my hair was falling flat thanks to the Arizona heat.

Three hours passed, and there was still no sign of Eric. I had started pacing and stopped worrying about the way I looked. It was hopeless at this point.

Two more hours passed, and I was starting to get hungry. I tried not think about it, because I knew I couldn't leave until Eric got here, otherwise he might think that I wasn't coming.

I laid down on the small bench and closed my eyes. He would be here soon, I just knew it.

I woke up to someone shaking the hell out of me.

"What are you still doing here? Everyone has been worried sick about you! Why don't you have your phone?" he asked. I groggily sat up and looked around the deserted park. I glanced down at my watch and saw that it was 5 in the morning.

"He didn't show up," I bit my bottom lip as I felt the tears already start to form in my eyes. "He didn't want me," I cried out. I stood up and buried my face into Justin's chest. He cradled my head against him with one hand and leaned his head on top of mine. His other hand was wrapped tightly around my back. It was the only thing keeping me from sinking to the ground.

"Shhhh, I'm sure something happened," he whispered into my ear. "I knew how excited he was."

"Have you… talked.. to him?" I choked out.

"No, I haven't. Nobody could get a hold of him either," he answered, lightly brushing the hair out of my eyes. I knew he was trying to calm me down, but I didn't want to be in this park for another minute.

"Can you take me home?" I asked, wiping my face with my palms.

"Sure, come on," he said, draping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close. There is a god, and his name is Justin Richards.

"How did Tim let you take his baby out?" I asked as soon as we got into Tim's car.

"I drive like a grandma, so he's okay with me taking her out," he answered, patting the dashboard. I nodded.

"Actually, could we make a detour, I need to check on my dad."

"No problem. Just lead the way."

We rode in silence the whole way, my tiny voice only filling the car when I gave directions. I was defeated, and felt horrible, but I wasn't going to cry over Eric anymore. He made his decision. I would have to live with it. I could do that.

We pulled into my old driveway. I missed this house. I usually saw my dad once or twice a week, and going a whole month without seeing him, was downright painful.

"His car's here," I observed, sighing in relief that I would finally get to see him. "Do you want to come in? If you have somewhere to go, that's okay. My dad's a pretty cool man," I smiled.

"So I have heard," he laughed. "I'm game, let's go." I knocked on the door and nobody answered. I waited a tiny bit longer, but he never came. So I just used my key.

"Dad?" I called into the house. The tv was on in the living room, but when I entered, he wasn't sitting in his chair.

"DAD?" I called as loud as I could. Nothing. I ran through the whole house looking for him.

"He isn't here Peyton," Justin told me as I ran past him again to double check.

"I know, but if he isn't here, then where is he?" I felt like I was about to have a panic attack.

"When was the last time you talked to him?" he asked me.

"Uh, a few days into tour. I don't really know." I went to his answering machine to see if there were any clues there. It was blinking, indicating he had messages. I hit the play button.

"Isn't that like, invasion of privacy?" Justin asked.

"SHHHH," I demanded.

The only message he had was from James, his partner, asking where he was.

This was getting to be too much.

"Take me home, now. I need to check my phone." I ran out of the door. Justin trailed behind me. I grabbed the keys from his grasp and ran to the drivers seat.

"This is not the time for you to be driving like a grandma."

"You shouldn't be driving Peyton. You are too worked up and-"

"Shut up!" I demanded, stepping on the gas pedal. Justin just sat back and closed his eyes.

"When you wreck Tim's car I'm not going to bail you ou-"

"SHUT UP!" I yelled. He smiled and nodded. He knew I wasn't trying to be disrespectful, I just needed to get to the bottom of this.

I threw the car in park and jumped out, running full speed for my door. I grabbed the cell phone off of the table and turned it on. It buzzed, what seemed like a million times before I could go through my missed calls and messages interrupted.

I had 42 voicemails. I skipped the ones from Halvo, and anyone else who was unimportant until I found the one I needed.

"I'm calling for Peyton Smith, to inform her that her father, William Smith, was admitted to the Tempe St. Luke's Hospital on August 19. He suffered a heart attack the morning of the 19th. You were the only emergency contact he had in his phone. It is very urgent that you call us back as soo-" I snapped the phone shut.

"My dad had a heart attack yesterday. He had a heart attack before he was supposed to come pick me up. Justin we need to go to the hospital now. Right now," I buried my face into his shirt, and his arms comforted me for the second time today.

"It's going to be fine, shhhh Peyton," he whispered, trying to comfort me. "I'll drive. Faster than normal, promise," he told me, grabbing the keys from my back pocket. I nodded and grabbed my phone. He led me to the car and pretty much booked it to the hospital. I was proud of him for driving out of his comfort zone.

"William Smith?" I asked the lady at the front desk. She took her time looking at her chart, over and over and over again. I was fidgeting with anything I could get my hands on, waiting for her to answer.

"For Christ's sake!" Justin yelled. I had never seen him raise his voice. Not once, so I was taken aback. He grabbed the chart from the lady and scanned it. She started yelling and making a scene until he dropped it back on the counter and grabbed my hand.

"418," he informed me. He pushed the button on the elevator and I shook my head.

"I'm scared of elevators," I confessed.

"Oh, well we can take the stairs," he assured me.

"That will take too long," I sighed.

"It's up to you."

"Just hold my hand and don't let it go." He nodded in agreement. As soon as the elevator stopped on the fourth floor, I dashed off of it. I had always been afraid of elevators.

We found room 418, and I knocked quietly.

"Come in," I heard my dad's voice call out, weakly. I sighed in relief to hear his voice. I ran in and carefully threw my arms around him.

"Daddy, I missed you so much," tears were steady rolling down my cheeks by this point.

"I missed you too, baby," he replied. His arms were confined by needles and wires, so he couldn't hug me back. The sight of him, laying helpless on a hospital bed broke my heart. I pulled away slowly and looked at all of the machines. They scared me.

"Who is this?" dad asked me as he spotted Justin standing awkwardly by the door.

"I'm Justin," he introduced himself.

"You wouldn't be Justin Richards by chance?" my dad asked. Oh god dad, shut up.

"The one in the same," Justin smiled.

"So he's the one you refer to as god?"

I closed my eyes and wished that this moment would pass.

"Shut up, daddy." I was sure my face was as red as it had ever been before in my life.

"I'm sorry, she does what?" Justin asked, clearly intrigued.

"You know. Instead of saying Thank God, she says Thank Justin Rich-"

"OKAY!" I practically yelled. Both Justin and my dad chuckled. This was so not funny.

"Okay Mr. Smith, it's time for you afternoon medicine. Oh, I see you have some visitors!" the nurse smiled as she rounded the corner.

"This is my daughter, Peyton. This is her friend Justin."

"Oh so you are the infamous 'Peyton.' It's a pleasure to meet you. Your dad has done nothing but talk about you all day today."

"Well, she is my whole life," he chuckled. I kissed his cheek. He was mine too.

"Your father is a real flirt too," she giggled.

"Of course he is." I smiled, taking a seat in the chair.

"He should probably nap now. You guys should come back in a few hours."

"Please don't make me leave," I pleaded. "I haven't seen my dad in a month and I just really need to be near him. It may sound weird to you, but please."

"Well…" she debated. "Okay, but he needs to sleep. Don't distract him." I nodded. She left and I sat down in the chair.

"You don't have to stay, Justin. I am sure it's going to be boring just sitting here."

"I'm not leaving you," he smiled and sat down in the chair next to me. I nodded, thankful. I didn't want to be by myself. I guess he knew that.

My dad was asleep within twenty minutes. Justin bought a pack of cards from the gift shop and we played card games for almost an hour.

"Do you want to talk about Eric?" he asked me, cautiously.

"Not really," I sighed. "I'd rather just forget about it." He nodded, shuffling the cards again. "I just want to know, you know. Why didn't he come last night? He told me that he would be there no matter what."

"He told me he would be there come hellfire and brimstone." Justin told me. "Something had to have happened."

"Well, I don't want to think about it right now."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you could do better."

"What?" I asked. I thought Eric was one of his best friends.

"You and Eric were good together, don't get me wrong. But that's all you were. Whenever I saw you two together there was no passion, or anything. It just seemed like you guys were friends who kissed more than anything. You could tell that you cared for each other a lot, but that was it."

I nodded, I could see how he would say that. We didn't really show PDA. I stood up and looked t my dad. He looked so peaceful. I was ready for him to wake up so that I could talk to him about everything. I turned around and faced Justin.

"What were you and John like together?" he asked me.

"We were just the opposite of Halvo and I. We were full blown passion, but not as much caring." I sighed. I didn't want to think about John right now.

"I never saw you two together, but that wouldn't have lasted."

"Yeah, I know." I sighed, looking down at my dad.

Justin stood up and walked over to me. "Everything will be okay," he whispered, grabbing my hand. I nodded and looked over at him.

"I want to try something," he whispered so low, I almost didn't catch it.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm going to kiss you," he informed me. I had never thought of Justin like that, and the thought of kissing him didn't excite me at all. I would give it a try though. I just nodded.

He placed his left hand on my cheek and his right arm around my back. My breath hitched at the closeness and my body was suddenly aware of how close Justin was. What was going on? This was Justin. My friend. Nothing more. He cautioned me with his eyes that he was about to go in for the kill. I nodded and watched his face get closer and closer to mine. My eyes instinctively closed and I was knocked breathless when he took most of my weight into his arm and swung me so that I was leaning backwards. I opened my eyes and locked my arms around his neck, afraid he would drop me. He chuckled and lowered his face to mine. I looked into his blue eyes, and saw something there I had never seen before. Fire. Passion. The moment his lips touched mine, I was captivated. His kisses weren't invasive or rough, they were soft and slow. I felt his tongue run slowly across my bottom lip, asking for entry. I granted him access, and was surprised by how natural kissing Justin felt.

My mind couldn't wrap around the fact that I was kissing Justin Richards. He stood me back up straight and slowly pulled away, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I was speechless. What do you say to the person who just gave you the best kiss you had ever had in your whole 21 years?

"Uh," I tried to think of something to say. He just smiled and kissed my forehead.

"I have wanted to do that for years," he confessed.

"Years?" I asked.

"That night that you were passed out in our van. I stayed with you all night. Eric was just there when you woke up the next morning. I had to go help Nick do something."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around this.

"You liked Eric," he shrugged. "I just wanted you to be happy."

"Kiss me again like you just did, and I will be happy for the rest of my life," I whispered, and he smiled the biggest smile I have ever seen in my life.

He wrapped his arms tightly around me and brought his lips to mine again. This time, we were interrupted by my dad's heart monitor going crazy. I broke away from Justin and looked at the machine.

"What's happening?" I cried out. A doctor and a few nurses came in, and ushered us out of the door. I fought and kicked them, until they finally gave up. The doctor ripped open my dad's hospital gown and got the **defibrillator ready. The first time they shocked my dad, I screamed. I felt Justin's arms wrap around me in an attempt to pull me away. **

"**Peyton, you don't need to see this," he told me. **

"**Dad, don't die! I need you," I cried out, struggling to get out of Justin's grasp.**

"**Get her out of here!" the doctor yelled. The nurses struggled with me for the second time. I was not above scratching or biting.**

**Then that god awful noise filled the room. The long, body numbing tone. You know the one. The one that tells you that you just lost someone close to you.**

**The one that shatters your whole world. **

**The sound that rips the air from your lungs.**

**That one.**

"**Time of death 4:32," the doctor said, putting the paddles down. I fell to the ground. No tears were falling, no sound was escaping my mouth.**

**I was in shock. My whole world had just been ripped from me. **

**The one person that meant everything to me was no longer alive. No longer capable of breathing. He no longer had a pulse.**

**He was gone. The nurses mumbled their condolences on the way out of the room, but I knew they could care less. I stood up and walked to his bedside. I grabbed his lifeless hand and put it to my cheek. I didn't know what to do, so I started babbling like a crazy person.**

"**That time that you took me to the Grand Canyon instead of Miami for spring break, and I told you that I hated you, I didn't mean it. I loved the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful. And that time that we went to Seattle to visit grandma, and we got in a fight and I ran away, I am so sorry for that." The tears started falling and I started sobbing. There was no controlling it anymore. I was no longer in shock, the reality sunk in.**

"**And that time that you cooked that god awful chili and I told you that it was the best thing I had ever tasted, I lied, but I didn't want to hurt you. Don't do this to me," I sobbed onto his chest. I wrapped my arms around his body and held on for dear life.**

"**Don't leave me, daddy."**

**Then we heard it. The faintest of beeps. The tiniest of beeps, I wasn't even sure if I made it up. I looked at Justin, and he was looking at the monitor. He heard it too. He ran out to get the doctor, and I sat up.**

"**It happens sometimes, okay? He's gone. There is nothing we can do about it," the doctor was saying as he walked into the room. "I'm sorry for your loss Miss Smith, but he's gone." Then it happened again. The doctor had a strange look on his face and he called the nurses.**

"**We can try one more time, but I can't promise you anything. His heart isn't very healthy right now, it may not keep a beat."**

**Ten minutes later the dumb doctor left the room, his head hung in shame, because he didn't try hard enough. He didn't care enough to keep pushing on. He gave up on my dad. I didn't though. I knew he wasn't done.**

**He had so much left to do in his life.**

"**I thought…" he stopped to take a few breaths, "you liked my chili."**

"**Don't you ever die on me again, you bastard." I cried and held his hand. He squeezed as tight as he could and nodded.**

"**We need to get your heart healthy, dad." I said, wiping my tears.**

"**How do we do that?" he asked.**

"**Eat Cheerios, duh." I smiled. Justin walked beside me and grabbed my other hand. **

"**Are you two together?" my dad asked me.**

"**No," I shook my head.**

"**Not yet," Justin smiled, confidently.**

"**Not yet," I agreed.**

"**What about Joe and Eric?" he asked me.**

"**Joe?" Justin asked.**

"**I don't like JOHN like that. Eric stood me up last night. Justin has always been here for me though."**

"**I always will be."**

"**I like this guy," my dad chuckled. **

**A few minutes later they took my dad for tests. They told us that the tests would take hours, and that we should go eat or something and come back later.**

**As we were walking out of the hospital my phone was vibrating in my back pocket. I retrieved it and stared at the screen. Eric.**

"**Should I answer?" I asked Justin's opinion.**

"**If you want an explanation, then yes," he smiled.**

"**Hello," I answered, flatly.**

"**I am so sorry…"**

"**What happened?" I asked, curious.**

"**Well, I was on my way to the park when John called me. He said he wanted to meet up. He's been my friend since the third grade, what was I supposed to do?"**

"**Okay, so you met up with John and…?"**

"**He took me out for a beer. One thing led to another and we were trashed. I couldn't drive or even walk."**

"**I see," I sighed.**

"**Can we meet up?" he asked. I looked over at Justin. He was smiling at me, waiting for me to get in the car.**

"**I don't think that's a good idea." I told him.**

"**Please?" he asked me.**

"**Go talk to John, who, by the way, did that on purpose. Don't you see Eric? He didn't want to patch things up, he just didn't want you to meet me."**

"**No, he didn't do it on purpose. It's not like him."**

"**It is though," I sighed. "Good luck with your rekindled bromance, Eric. I can't do this anymore," and with that, I snapped my phone shut and climbed in the passenger seat.**

"**Where do you want to-" but I cut him off with my lips. Kissing Justin felt new and exciting, and I almost felt like I could do it for the rest of my life, and never get tired of it. It was unexpected and perfect. It was what I needed right now. He was what I needed right now.**


	27. I'm Yours, Tonight

"You're not playing the chorus right. It goes like this," Jared said as he began to strum. We were in California working on the song that John and Peyton had written. Everyone besides Peyton and I had done our parts, and it was my turn. I already tried playing the song once, but I fucked it up a lot, so Jared was teaching me the ways while Garrett just watched.

"Oh, I think I see what I did wrong," I stated. I retuned my guitar a tad bit. "So it… is like this." I started playing the song over. I watched Jared's face as I played. If I messed up, I knew his face would show it.

I played the whole song, and he had the same facial expression on the whole time.

"Nailed it!" he said, high-fiving me. I looked over at Garrett, who was all smiles.

"What is it?" I asked him, smiling back. It was contagious around him.

"You're just, you know, good, and, stuff," he replied.

"Well thank you." I blew a kiss at him, and he 'caught' it and placed it on his lips.

"Oh come on," Jared mumbled, making a gagging face. We just chuckled at him. He looked at his phone to check the time, and then stood up. "We need to record your guitar part; we're running out of time." I nodded and followed him into the booth.

"Two takes and you're done. I can't even do that!" Jared exclaimed as I walked out of the booth.

"I really concentrated and got into the song, I guess," I stated, scratching the back of my head.

"I AM HUNGRY!" Garrett shouted. Okay.

"I am too," I replied.

"How about lunch?" Garrett asked Jared and me.

"Oh, me gusta!" I replied, putting my arm around his waist. He put his arm around my shoulder.

"I'm going to stay here with everyone else and watch Peyton sing and stuff. But thanks. Have fun!" Jared answered.

"Okay, we'll meet you back at the venue," Garrett said. And with that, we were off.

We walked to a mall that was about three blocks away. Well, I walked two blocks, and then got tired, so Garrett carried me on his back the rest of the way. The man has surprising strength.

We got inside and headed straight for the food court. We couldn't choose between an Italian place and a Chinese place, so we flipped a coin.

We headed over to the Italian place. I got my favourite dish of all time, Chicken Parmesan, and Garrett got a big ass meatball sub. We took a seat and started eating.

"So…last show of tour tonight," he said in between bites.

"It sure is," I stated. It was a bittersweet feeling for me. I was happy to be going back home, but then again, I would miss spending all this time with all the people on tour. Sure, a lot of shit has happened that has caused a lot of problems, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. If we hadn't of come on this tour, I would still be at home, crying over Cameron. Garrett and I wouldn't have gotten close. I would have never met all the people that I have met.

"What're you looking forward to most when you get back home?" he asked.

"Sleeping in _my_ bed. My own bed. Not in a bunk, or on a couch, just my own, sweet bed."

"I'm looking forward to sleeping in your bed, too," he said with a smile. I just blushed and chuckled at him.

"My bed's tiny. It fits me perfectly, but it won't fit two."

He didn't say anything for a moment; he just kept munching on his sub while having his 'thinking face' on. After sitting in silence and watching him do nothing but chew his food for five minutes, I spoke up.

"What is it?"

He swallowed the bite he was on and set his sub down. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Well, this is sort of, you know, important."

"Oh, well, okay. Go for it," I said, locking my hands together and placing them on the table.

"Well…I don't know. Hearing you say that made me feel…well, icky."

"Saying what?" I asked.

"That your bed won't fit two," he replied.

"Well… uh… do you want me to buy a bigger bed…or…"

"No, no, I'm not saying that. Maybe, I don't know, for a few days when we get back, you could, uh…" he trailed off. I didn't know what he was getting at.

"I could what?"

"Maybe stay with me?"

"Uh…well…what?" I stammered. Did he really just ask that?

"Julia," he started, grabbing my hands, "I'm sure you know this, but never has anything made me as happy as you have. You mean so much to me, and I don't think I could go without seeing your beautiful smile every day." Oh my god.

"Garrett…" I stopped. I didn't even know what to say.

"Do you remember the night that The Downtown Fiction and Rocket played their first shows together? You all came from Virginia on your annual Arizona summer trip to spend it with Peyton, and – "

"And the rest is history. How do you know this? I didn't even know you…"

He gripped on my hands tighter. "I went to watch Halvo play that night, and that's when I first saw you. I wanted to speak to you, but after the show you ran straight for Nick, so I thought you two were dating, but when I asked Halvo who you were later on, he told me you guys weren't dating, but you had already gone back to Virginia."

"Oh my god, Garrett ….but, but, I moved down here within the next month after that," I stated.

"I know, but I didn't know until Halvo mentioned it one day while we were on tour. Our band was and has been busy since you moved here, and I just haven't had the time to introduce myself…"

"And when you all came over that night…"

"You seemed interested in Pat, so I stayed back. Bro code."

"I respect that," I said.

"So…I'm pretty much trying to say that I like you, a lot, and I just want as much time with you as I can get."

"I like you a lot, too, Garrett…" That was true enough, but could I really just leave the comfort of my apartment and stay with him? And what about Peyton? "…but can I have some time to think about it?"

He showed a small smile. "Sure. Take all the time you need." He let go of my hands and put them in his lap, then directed his attention to his sub. "I don't think I can finish this."

"You only ate one half of the sub. You didn't even touch the other half."

He stared at his uneaten half of the sandwich for awhile before speaking again. "I'm going to go get a to-go bag for this," he said, standing up and walking off. He soon came back though, wrapping up the rest of his sub and putting it in a bag.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's head to the venue," I answered. Luckily the venue was just a block away from the mall.

As we walked out of the mall, I noticed that a homeless man was sitting on a bench all by himself. I didn't say anything to Garrett, because we both didn't have any spare change to give him, but before I knew it, Garrett walked over and sat down beside him.

"How are you feeling today, sir?" he asked the man.

"I've…been better," he replied shakily. I had no idea what Garrett was doing…

"Well, I have an untouched half of a meatball sub in this bag, and I was wondering if you would like it." He held out the bag to the man, who slowly took it, but as he pulled the bag closer to him, his smile just got bigger and bigger.

"Thank you so much, child…God bless you."

Garrett walked back over to where I was standing, and we began walking towards the venue.

"That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen anyone do," I stated as I locked my hand with his.

"Well, he needed it more than I did," he replied.

I stopped and tugged on his hand so he would stop, too.

"What's the matter?" he asked me. I didn't answer. I just put my arms around his neck, pulled him closer to me, and kissed him.

When we made it to the venue, we met up with everyone at the bar. All the guys, Peyton, and I were super pumped for this last show. We were all just hanging around, drinking our drinks, when Kennedy gave us a toast.

"To the band, for getting this far and working through our problems. To this being our last show of tour, and may we, for the love of god, rock hard. To Julia, for being a genius on the guitar and for making our Garrett such a happy boy. To John and Peyton, for recording one of the best songs I have ever heard. And to me, in hopes that I get laid tonight!" he yelled, and we all laughed. Everyone clanked their glasses, and drank their drink of choice.

After that, everyone scrambled to do their jobs. After the merch table was set up, Peyton and I stepped aside so we could have some girl time together.

"Are you ready to be home?" she asked me. I just shrugged. I thought about it for a second; about what Garrett asked me. I think I knew the answer.

"Nothing's really waiting for me there. My home is wherever Garrett is, I guess," I replied, sitting down.

"Are you ready to be home...Wait, don't answer that. I already know the answer," I said, chuckling.

"I don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight." she stated. "Tomorrow is the start of the rest of my life. I'm so ready for it."

"Good." We both directed our attentions to a man walking up to us. I glanced over at Peyton, who looked like she just came.

"Hi, are you Peyton and Julia?" he asked us. Peyton nodded at him. "John said that I could set up my merch with you guys, since I don't have anyone to look after it. Do you mind?"

"No, we don't mind," I said. He lifted a box onto the table.

"Thank you," he smiled at us. "I am Austin," he held out his hand. I shook it, then Peyton (who had a very tight grip on it). "I need to go sound check, but I hope we can talk after the show."

"I.. I.. me too," she said, stuttering. He smiled and turned to walk away. As soon as he was out of sight, I bursted into laugher.

"Oh my god, I made an ass of myself in front of Austin Gibbs. What is my life?" she asked.

"Your life is lame," I answered in between breaths. I was laughing so hard that I snorted a few times.

"How does Garrett even like you with all of that snorting?" she yelled as she joined in with the laughing.

We calmed down as the doors opened. It was such a great night; nothing could ruin my mood. I glanced over to Peyton, who was very mesmerized by Austin Gibb's performance. I saw that Justin Richards was behind her, but before I could greet him, he motioned for me to be quiet. I nodded and looked to the other side of me to see Nick Santino standing there.

"Nick!" I yelled at him as I jumped up and threw my arms around him.

"Julia, it's great to see you," he said, bear hugging me. We both turned to Justin and Peyton.

"How have you been?" Justin asked. Peyton just shrugged.

"That great?" Nick said, leaning against the merch table.

"She's just ready to get home tomorrow," I stated.

"Good. It is all Halvo talks about. I can't wait until you guys finally unite so he will shut up," Justin said with a laugh.

"Are you guys playing tonight?" Peyton asked,

"Nah. Just catching a ride to Arizona. We have a meeting with Tim tomorrow." Justin replied. Them riding with us was going to be fun. Nick turned to me and we started our own conversation.

"How was tour for you?" he asked me.

I smiled and shook my head. "It was a hell of a trip."

"Wanna tell me about it?"

I've known Nick as long as I've known Peyton, and he was one of the easiest people to talk to. I told him about everything; Pat, the dreams I had, Pat again, my junk being exposed, Garrett, everything. He didn't judge me or anything I did, which is what I liked most about him. I'm sure we would have talked forever, but our conversation was ended when Peyton grabbed my hand and started pulling me with her towards the stage.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Last night of tour, you are playing," she replied. Right before we got on stage, John Gomez handed me an acoustic guitar. I put it on and took my spot on stage, right between Garrett and Jared.

"We're going to play a song that Peyton and I wrote. It's called 'All Over Again.' I hope you guys enjoy it," John said into the microphone. I looked over at Peyton, who I thought would be pumped and excited, but she had the look of hesitation on her face.

"Wait," she said into the mic. She then ran offstage to say something to John Gomez, who then ran back to the merch table. Then Peyton began speaking again.

"I don't know if you guys noticed, but we have two of my favorite people on the planet here tonight. You may know them. Together they make up 2 out of the 4 members of a little band called 'A Rocket to the Moon. Who wants to hear them play a song?" They all cheered extremely loud.

"But it's the middle of our set," John exclaimed. He then walked offstage, but the rest of the band stayed. Justin and Nick made their way onto the stage, and Nick took Peyton's mic.

"I am tired of A Rocket to the Moon songs. Anybody in the mood for some Brighten?"

"Peyton can pick the song," Justin said into John's mic while tuning his guitar. I knew what song she was going to pick.

"What She Really Wants," she answered. He started playing the song, and eventually, the whole band, including me, joined in. It sounded super amazing, and it was probably the best playing experience I've ever had.

When the song was over, we got off stage and shared celebratory high fives, then headed for the bar. I didn't want any alcohol though because I knew tomorrow would be the first day with Garrett, at his place. I didn't need to be spending it hung-over. I stayed around Peyton most of the night, but made my way over to Garrett when she started peeing in the bushes. He was sitting on a bench close to the entrance back into the bar.

"Last night of tour is always crazy," he said to me as I sat down beside him. "Everyone goes ape shit and parties like the end of the world is tomorrow."

"Everyone except you, that is. Why are you sitting over here?" I asked. He just shrugged.

"Everyone is drunk, and I don't drink. If I hung around them after they get so drunk, what's the point if they won't remember it in the morning?"

"You'd have the memories of it," I answered.

"But it's not like I could discuss them with anyone I shared them with. 'Oh hey, do you remember when you did that thing?' 'Nah man, I was so drunk.' It's like it never even happened."

"How come you don't drink, then?"

"When you drink, you become someone you're not. Do you mind if I use you as an example?"

"I guess…" I replied. I was afraid of what was about to come out of his mouth.

"When you get drunk, you become this wild party girl. You don't think about what you're doing, you just do it. Cameron for example…" he trailed off and looked at me.

"You can talk about him," I said quietly, looking down at the ground.

"Well, both times you had sex with him, you were drunk. Were you not?"

"I wanted to do it the first time..."

"It's a yes or no question, Julia."

I sighed. "Yes, I was. More the second time, though.

"See, you do things that you don't want to do, or end up regretting. Or you do things that hurt other people."

"And when I'm sober?"

"When you're sober…" he stopped and put his arm around me. I leaned my head on his shoulder and he began talking again. "When you're sober, you are this girl…this girl that is so sensitive and caring, and would do anything for her loved ones. You're this amazing soul that brightens up the sky every time you smile…God, your smile is so beautiful. You're beautiful. And when you get drunk, you get ugly. Not looks, wise, but your personality. And I hate that. You're not the girl I fell in love with when you're drunk."

He stopped himself. I lifted my head up from his shoulder and looked at him. "What did you just say?"

"I…uh…I'm going to go to my bunk," he mumbled, standing up and walking to the bus.

I just sat there, taking in what he just said. He just said he loved me. No, no, _in _love with me. Wow.

"You okay?" I jumped as I heard that being said to me. I wasn't expecting Jonathan to sit next to me.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't know," I answered. I buried my face into the palms of my hands and sighed.

"Well, what's the problem?" he asked me.

"Grrrtt srrd hr lrrd mr," was what came out of my mouth since my face was still in my hands.

"W….what?"

I looked up at him. "Garrett said he loved me."

"I tell people all the time I love them…It's not like he –"

"He said he was in love with me," I said, cutting him off.

"Oh," was all he managed to say. We just sat there, looking at the ground for a long time before I spoke up again.

"What do I do?"

"Do you love him?" he asked.

"I…." I didn't know. I knew that I had feelings for Garrett, huge feelings, but was it love? _Love_, love? "I… think…I'm…." And with that, I turned to the side, and puked in the parking lot. Jonathan quickly scooted over and held my hair back until I finished.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"I don't even know...I didn't even feel bad at first, and I haven't had anything to alcoholic tonight. Maybe I just need to rest," I replied, standing up.

"Here, I'll take you to your bus," he said, putting his hands on my shoulders and directing me to the bus. When we got on, he put me on the couch in the front room.

"You going to be okay?"  


"I think so," I said, lying down. "Thank you, Jonathan."

"No problem." He ruffled my hair and walked off the bus.

I laid there in silence for what seemed like hours. I knew Garrett was somewhere on the bus, I just didn't feel like getting up and looking for him. He might have fallen asleep or something and I figured he didn't want to be bothered. For the time I was lying there, no one had entered … or exited the bus. I guess it was quite the party outside.

Then, I heard ruffling coming from the bunk area of the bus. My stomach filled up with butterflies because I knew it was Garrett, and more butterflies filled my stomach when I heard a curtain to a bunk being pulled back. His feet hit the ground and I could hear him walking this way.

I wanted to tell him how I felt. I wanted to just hold him and never let go. But what did I do? I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"Julia? Julia…I guess you're sleeping…" He started to walk off, but then he walked back and he sat on the couch.

"I'm going to talk to you, anyways. Whether you can hear me or not." I kept my eyes closed and just listened.

"I don't regret slipping out that I'm in love with you, because I've wanted to tell you, and I don't think I could have kept it in any longer…I wish you could see how cute you look right now, sleeping; I love the way your hand is pressed against your cheek and how its making you look like you have a fish face, and…and the way your eyeliner is smudged at the corner of your eyes…Everything about you is just so gorgeous. I wish you could see yourself like I see you…"

He stopped talking for a minute or two after that, but I could feel him staring at me. I just stayed still, keeping my eyes closed. He then began talking again.

"I really hope you decide to stay with me, Julia. Whether you feel the same about me like I do you, I still want you with me. But if you don't…well, I'll just have to crash at your apartment then, huh? Ha-ha." He got up, came over to me, and kissed my forehead.

"Goodnight Julia. I'll see you in the morning." He walked away and got back into his bunk. I opened my eyes when I heard the curtain close behind him. I sat up and just took in everything I just heard. It was the most beautiful thing that anyone has ever said to me. Ever.

I got up and slowly walked over to Garrett's bunk. It was silent, so I figured he just went to sleep. I knocked on the wall beside the bunk, though, just in case he was awake.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Me," I replied. I heard him scoot over.

"Come in."

I opened the curtain and crawled in beside him. "Were you sleeping?"

"Nah, just lying here. What's up?" he asked.

"I..was… kind of fake sleeping when you were talking to me," I confessed. His face turned a very bright red.

"Oh…so…you heard…everything…I said."

"Yes. Did I really have a fish face?" He chuckled and I laughed at how cute his chuckle sounded.

"I meant every word I said to you," he said, putting his hand on my knee.

"I've made a decision, Garrett. About me staying with you."

His grip on my knee tightened a little bit. "Oh…you did?"

"Yeah… and… well…"

"Oh god, you're not going to do it because I said your eyeliner was smudged! I'm sorry…I didn't mean to say you had a fish face either, it was just really cute and I wanted to point it out! Oh god, god, I'm such an idiot for even saying I loved you when you didn't feel the same! I want to just crawl in a hole and-"

I cut him off by pulling him in and pressing my lips against his. I then pulled back.

"My answer, had you let me finished, is yes. I love you, Garrett Daniel Nickelsen."

He then proceeded to show me the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face, which made me smile big. He then pulled me in and gave me the most passionate kiss I've ever received in my life.

We fell asleep soon after that, and we didn't wake up until the bus had stopped when we were in Arizona.

"Garrett… hey Garrett, we're here," I said, shaking at his arm for him to wake up.

"I thought…you liked my chili," he mumbled, turning over.

"You are impossible," I murmured, climbing out of the bunk and bumping into JMCM.

"Woah! Easy, killer," he said. "Garrett won't wake up?"

"No. Will you…?"

"My pleasure. If you'll excuse me…" he passed by me and crawled into his bunk, closing the curtain behind him. All you could hear was someone shuffling behind it.

"Hmm..what…" Garrett shakily said. Then he yelled. "JARED! GET YOUR DICK OUT OF MY FACE! JESUS CHRIST!"

Jared then swiftly got out of the bunk, dick back in his pants, and ran off the bus. Garrett got out of his bunk and looked at me.

"Jared's penis was in my face." I fell onto the floor I was laughing so hard.

We retrieved our things from the bus and met up with everyone outside to say our goodbyes. I retrieved numbers from everyone and I left with Garrett when Trey arrived to pick us up.

"Do you need anything from your apartment?" Trey asked as he drove.

"Yeah, you might want to stop there," I replied.

We got there in the next few minutes. It was weird walking into my apartment after not being there in so long. I grabbed my phone first, but I didn't turn it on. I'm sure I had 946890348590345 messages, and I didn't have time to check them now. I walked into my room and put a few of my remaining clothes into a large purse that I had. I then got a piece of paper so I could write Peyton a note.

_Pey,_

_I'm going to stay at Garrett's for awhile to see how things work out between us.  
We have a lot we need to discuss. So call me as soon as you see this…or whenever you can.  
If you need me, I can be over here faster than Nick was when he had to unclog the toilet._

_I love you!  
Julia_

_PS – I took all the fudge rounds~~~~~_

I put the note on her pillow on her bed, got the fudge rounds out of the kitchen, left the apartment, and joined Trey and Garrett in the car again.

"Did you get what you needed?" Garrett asked from the front seat.

"Yeah. I think so. If not, I have a key," I replied.

We drove for a few more minutes until we pulled up at a house.

"This is it," Trey said, putting the car in park and getting out.

Garrett looked back at me. He had a huge grin on his face. "You sure you want to live with me? I'm so icky, and boyish."

"I think you have mistaken yourself for me," I said with a chuckle.

We got out of the car and he helped me get my things out of the trunk and into the house. We put my stuff in Garrett's room, and when we were done, Garrett and I were resting on his couch together.

"Are you ready to get a new start here?" he asked me.

I kissed the top of his nose. "Of course. Nothing can ruin me, now."


	28. I Swear This Time I Mean It

Alexander Graham Bell is the biggest idiot on the face of the earth. Inventing the telephone? His intentions were well, but his invention was causing me so much frustration. I stared at my iphone sitting on the coffee table. It had been buzzing uncontrollably for the past three days. Three boys were calling me, and I wanted them to all stop.

After the day in the hospital, I hadn't seen or talked to Justin. Call me a bitch, but things had moved way too fast with him.

I haven't talked to John since he went home the day we arrived back in Tempe.

I hadn't talked to Halvo since he called me, apologizing for standing me up.

I had the apartment to myself, and I had never felt more alone in my whole life. Julia move in with Garrett, and I was happy for them, I was so happy for them. They deserved every ounce of happiness that came their way. I was just jealous. It was so easy for them. They wanted to be around each other, they wanted to be happy and they wanted to be happy together. I could be jealous of that if I wanted. I had a bowl of Blue Bell Birthday Cake Ice Cream, watching re-runs of One Tree Hill.

"Don't listen to him, Brooke. He is cheating on you with Peyton," I screamed at the TV, like it could hear me. I was pathetic, and I knew it. My cell phone was vibrating again, and I ignored it.

The knock on my door startled me, and I almost didn't get up to see who it was. If it was one of three boys, I would kill myself. I looked through the peephole and saw someone with short brown hair.

"Kenny!" I yelled, opening the door. His smile immediately turned into a frown as he took in my appearance. I was wearing my Seattle Seahawks pajama pants, a slightly stained tank top. My hair was messily thrown up on the top of my head.

"What?" I asked, ushering him into the apartment. He looked around at the mess and then back at me, letting out a low whistle.

"Slob," was the only word he said.

"Ass," I sighed, plopping back down on the couch. I picked up my bowl of ice cream and continued eating.

"Get up. For the love of god, go shower. Get ready. You are not staying in here all day today. Again."

"But One Tree Hill is on, Kennedy." I stated, not making an attempt to move from my spot on the couch.

"And? You own all of the seasons on DVD. Get up, now. Don't make me use these bad boys," he said, flexing his muscles. I rolled my eyes and stood up. I punched his arm on my way to the bathroom to shower for the first time in three days.

When I came back out, fully clothed in clean clothing, Kennedy had cleaned my apartment.

"Why?" I asked, rounding the kitchen, where he was washing dishes.

"Because you are gross," he replied.

"I'm usually not this messy, but Julie left me, and I have been wallowing in self pity," I confessed, crossing my arms and leaning against the counter, daring him to make fun of me. He didn't. He finished drying the dishes and handed them to me to put away.

"Stop wallowing in self pity and let's go do something."

"Fine. I need to go see my dad before we do anything, though." I told him. He nodded and grabbed the keys to his Honda Civic off of the counter. We made small talk all the way to the hospital. He asked about John and Eric, but didn't know about Justin. So I told him about that.

"Oh, so that explains that," he mumbled to himself.

"That explains what?" I asked.

"He was supposed to go back to California yesterday. He didn't. He's staying with John and me." He stayed for me. Oh.

When we arrived at the hospital, I told Kennedy he didn't have to come in, that I would only be a few minutes, but he insisted he come with me.

As soon as I rounded the corner to my dad's room I heard voices, and I stopped. I didn't want to interrupt whoever was in there. It was probably my dad's business partner.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Smith," the guy said, and I recognized the voice.

"Bill," my dad corrected him.

"Bill," he chuckled and started walking towards the door. I didn't want to see him right now and I didn't know why he was visiting my dad in the hospital. He ran right into me, and I was almost knocked the ground.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized, grabbing onto me before I bit the dust.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Justin. He looked at Kennedy and then at me, and nodded towards my dad's room.

"Visiting your dad," he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. That part was obvious, but that was not what I meant.

"Why are you visiting my dad?" I asked

"Because we have been talking about things," he shrugged, eyeing Kennedy. I bit my bottom lip. I didn't know if this made me like him more or if it weirded me out.

"What kind of things?" I asked.

"You, mostly," he sighed. "I really need to get back to Pat's house. I'll see you later, Kennedy. I'll see you whenever I do, Peyton." I looked at Kennedy with a "what the fuck" face, but he just shrugged.

I walked into the hospital room and hugged my dad. He seemed to be doing better. They would release him soon, I was sure of it. I was so caught up in asking my dad why Justin was there, I forgot Kennedy had yet to meet him.

He awkwardly cleared his throat, and I looked over at him. I felt bad for forgetting he was even there.

"Daddy, this is Kennedy. Kennedy, this is my dad, Bill." I introduced them. Kennedy walked over to shake my dad's hand.

"Kennedy, are you in one of the bands she's always chasing?" he asked. Kennedy chuckled and nodded.

"I play guitar for The Maine," he answered.

"Oh. The one who punched that other guy? Jim?" he asked.

"John," I corrected, yet again.

"Violence is never the answer," my dad said, sounding serious.

"Oh, shut up dad." I smiled.

"What are you guys doing today?" my dad asked.

"I don't know dad, how long has Justin been coming to see you?"

"Oh, everyday," my dad shrugged.

"Why?" I asked.

"He isn't the only one who comes to see me. Julia comes every day. Eric has come to see me too. Unlike my daughter, who hasn't come back in a couple of days."

"I was wallowing in self pity, dad. I am sorry." I laughed, and then what he said registered. "Eric? How did he know you were in the hospital? I haven't talked to him." I asked, sitting down on the side of his bed.

"I don't know. News travels fast, I guess," he sighed. "Eric really loves you, P. I can tell. Justin likes you a lot too."

"Mhm. That's great," I said, standing up and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "We're going to go do stuff now. I will be back later tonight."

"Oh, alright," my dad smiled. "Kennedy, if you want to freak my daughter out, just come see me without her knowing. Join all of the other guys." Kennedy laughed and shook my dad's hand, yet again.

"It was nice to meet you Mr. Smith."

"Bill," my dad replied, as always.

"Bill," Kennedy nodded. I gave my dad one more hug before we were off.

"Where are you taking me, Kennedy Brock?"

"To my house," he replied, starting his car.

"No way," I said, confident that he would be a good friend and change his mind.

"Yes way. Everything about this whole you and John situation, you and Justin situation, you and Halvo situation, you and me situation, it's getting old. You need to either make a decision or just not date any of us, because it's annoying wondering who you are going to like on what day of the week."

Oh no he didn't.

"The you and me situation?" I asked. This was new. I thought we were over this. Kennedy stared at the open road ahead of him and didn't answer me.

"Take me home, now." I demanded. He kept ignoring me. I crossed my arms, balling up my fist to stop me from punching his pretty little face.

When we got to Kennedy and John's house, I didn't want to get out of the car. The fact that Eric and Justin and John were inside, really made me hate life.

"Come on, Peyton," he nudged my shoulder.

"No. I can't believe you would interfere like this, Kennedy? You are my _friend."_

"And when you interfered with the band, how did things turn out? Locking us in that closet, making us work out our problems. That worked. This will work, Peyton."

"Fuck this," I sighed, leaning my seat back and kicking my feet up on the dashboard. I was acting like I was twelve, not twenty-one.

"Oh, it's only 107 degrees right now. It will only get hotter. Have fun out here," he told me, taking the key out of the ignition.

Well played, Kennedy Brock. I jumped out of the car and followed him up the pathway. Kennedy unlocked the front door and opened it up to my personal hell.

Justin, Halvo, John and Justin were all sitting in the living room. Waiting on me to get there, I suppose. I stomped my way into the room, and plopped on the couch, crossing my arms, and waiting for this intervention to start. Nobody said a word. For about three minutes.

"Can we just start this thing? Or skip it? Or…?" I asked. They all just stared at me.

"We're tired of you treating us like you do," Kennedy was the first to speak up.

"I just wanted to apologize for not showing up at the park and ruining everything," Eric mumbled.

"I don't know what happened. I thought things were fine with us." Justin spoke up.

"I just love how fast you started something new with someone else as soon as Eric didn't show up" John smirked, not even looking at me. I don't even want to be here." His arms were crossed just like mine.

"I'm really sorry, guys," I sighed. I felt bad, and I never meant to hurt any of them the way that I did.

"Kennedy, I really didn't think you even had feelings for me anymore. Eric, you didn't show up, after you promised you would show up no matter what. Justin, things were just moving too fast for me, and I'm sorry if I hurt you. John, shut up."

"You shut up," he replied, standing up.

"No, you shut up," I replied, standing up as well.

"Both of you shut up." Eric finally yelled. Everyone looked annoyed as John and I battled in a preschool way.

"You couldn't just let me be happy. You couldn't just let things happen the way they were supposed to. You had to interfere, like you always do. You had to take the one thing away from me that made me happy."

"Oh, what? Your virginity?" he shot back.

"You bastard!" I yelled.

"Guys, will you just shut up?" Kennedy yelled. "John, if you don't want to be here, then you should leave."

"I'm not going anywhere. This just got good," John smirked that asshole smirk again and sat back down, crossing his legs like he always did.

I fell back down on the couch and waited until for the next person to say something. Nobody did.

"Whose idea was this? These discussions are private. Having them in front of all of you at the same time, was just plain idiotic. This will do nothing but cause more problems."

"Sure is entertaining," John smiled at me. I wanted to kick him, hard in the shin.

"This is dumb. I don't want to do this anymore. Someone take me home." I demanded.

"I will," Kennedy, Justin and Eric all said at the same time. I shook my head.

"Nevermind. I'll walk." I said, getting up and walking to the door. "My door is open. If someone wants to talk PRIVATELY, then you know where to find me." I said, slamming the door behind me.

My house was a few miles away. The sun was too damn hot for this, but what choice did I have. Three eager guys was not appealing to me right now. Neither was one brooding guy.

The single life was looking so more appealing than it ever had before.

It took me an hour to get home, not that I minded the walk. It let me clear my head. I missed Julia being there when I got home to talk to. I missed when Kennedy Brock came over for margaritas. I missed when John was humane to me. I missed when Eric kissed me and wrestled me in bed. I missed when Justin was my God.

I didn't have any of that anymore, and I would do almost anything to have it all back to normal. I didn't know who I was supposed to end up, or if any of these guys were even right for me. I cracked open the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of wine. I grabbed a wine glass and popped in a chick flick. It was what I wanted to do, and what I needed.

I woke up to three small raps on the door. I sat up and looked at the clock. 2:46 am. I didn't bother with the light switches, because they would only make me hate life even more than I already did.

I opened the door, and could barely make out who it was.

"Peyton, listen to me. Please," he started. I bit my lip and provided him with all of my attention.

"I know you are mad at all of us right now, and I am sorry it ended the way it did. I just wanted things to go back to normal. I miss having you in my life and I would do almost anything to get it back to the way things were. They need to be like they were back before the tour, back before things got so screwed up," he stepped into my apartment.

"I know you have three other guys to consider, but Peyton Elaine Smith, you should be with me," he rested his forehead to mine.

"I can't live without you. I've tried. I don't want you to be with anyone else," he said, sweeping my bangs out of my eyes.

"I just want you."

It took me surprise, that he would show up this late, but he was saying all of the right things. I don't think I had ever wanted him more than I did in that moment.

And I let him know that, with the most passionate kiss I could give him. My life was where I wanted it to be. It only took twenty-one years.


	29. Unexpected Places

We had been home from tour for a month now, and things were going very smoothly. In fact, never in my life had things been so perfect. The only thing that was wrong was I missed having Peyton in the same house as me, but we talked everyday over the phone. She told me about Justin, Halvo, John, her dad. But since we talked every day, not a lot of things could bring me down.

Garrett and I hadn't seen anyone since tour was over, so today we were going to meet Jared and John Gomez at a nearby café.

I was waiting for Garrett on the couch; I had already showered, done my makeup and everything, but there was just one problem. Garrett wasn't even awake yet.

"Good lord," I mumbled, standing up and walking into our room. Sure enough he was still sprawled out all over the bed, sleeping like a baby. I quietly tip-toed over, making sure I didn't wake him by walking. I got up right to his ear…

"WAKE UP!" I yelled.

"WHATWUHAUHT!" he yelped as he jumped and fell off the bed.

"Oh….my god….are you…okay?" I asked in between breaths. I was laughing so hard I almost peed myself. I held out my hand to him, he took it, and I helped him get up.

"That wasn't funny," he murmured, making a frowning face at me. I kissed the top of his nose.

"Well, at least you're up now. We're meeting up with Jared and John at one, you know."

"I'm aware. What time is it now?"

"Twelve thirty."

"Oh, well shit!" He rushed passed me and headed towards the bathroom. I just laughed and took my seat back on the couch.

"JMCM!" I yelled, tackling the man. He gave me one of the biggest hugs I've ever received.

"Julie! It's not fair that Garrett gets to live with you and I don't," he said, pulling back.

"We have room in our bed for one more…isn't that right, Gare?" I asked, looking back.

"You can't leave me out, though!" Gomez joined.

"You can be like the dog that sleeps at the end of the bed," Jared joked.

"Or, or, Julia and I can have alone time," Garrett said.

"Nah, you need some JMCM in your life," Jared stated, flexing. Boys.

After talking for awhile, we all went in and sat down. It was really refreshing seeing good friends after a few days.

"So," Jared started, "when's the wedding?"

I let out a small laugh. "Well, John and I didn't want to rush into anything, but we're thinking about just going to Vegas tomorrow and doing it then."

"We weren't going to tell anyone, though, so, shhhh," Gomez said, winking.

"Har de har. But really, Garrett, are you going to marry her?" Jared asked again.

"I don't know, Jared. Are you ever going to marry Tessa?" he shot back.

"Touche…"

"Why get married when everyone knows we're in love?" I chimed in, hugging on to Garrett's arm.

"You already act like you're married, though," John said. "You live together, you're madly in love and not afraid to show it. The only thing you don't do is, you know, it." How did he know that we haven't even had sex yet? I'm sure I turned as read as a tomato when he said that.

"We want our first time together to be romantic. Not just a, 'Oh hey, I'm in the mood, let's do it right here' type of thing," Garrett defended.

"Marriage just seems like a waste of money," I stated. "We know we're in love. We don't need a certificate to prove it."

"I never looked at it that way," Jared said.

"Yeah, it's like-" I stopped and put my hand over my mouth.

"What? What is it?" Garrett asked, rubbing my back.

I shot up, ran to the bathroom, and puked in the toilet. Garrett rushed in behind me, even though it was a gendered bathroom, and held my hair back.

"This is becoming a problem," he said as I pulled back. I stood up, walked over to the sink, and rinsed my mouth out.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," I murmured.

"We're taking you to a doctor. Right now."

Jared and John understood that I was sick, so we parted ways and Garrett took me to a walk-in clinic. We didn't have to wait that long before we were called back into the doctor's office. I went in there by myself as Garrett stayed in the lobby and filled out some paper work for me.

"So, what is the problem?" he asked me.

"I've been having random puking spells," I replied. "I don't even feel sick, and then they just come."

"Any other problems?"

"Some small headaches now and then, but those always happen."

He wrote down some things on his clipboard, and then stood up. "If you'll come with me, I'd like to take some blood from you."

I followed him into a certain room, and then he took blood from my arm. I didn't ask what he thought was wrong, or why he was taking blood, I just went along with it. After he got the blood, he sent me back to the room I was in, and Garrett was waiting in there. I sat down beside him, and he grabbed my hand.

"Do you know what's wrong, yet?" he asked.

"No. The doctor just took some blood from me. That's all," I answered.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes when finally the doctor returned to the room.

"I've gotten the results back from your test, Julia," he said, sitting down in his doctor chair across from us. "It's what I thought it was."

"Well, what? What's wrong with me?" I asked. He handed me the paper that was in his hand.

I read over that sentence at least one hundred times. So did Garrett. I threw the paper down and fell to the floor in tears. How could this happen to me?

The car ride back home was very silent. Garrett and I didn't say one word to each other. He just rubbed my knee as I sat in the passenger seat, still crying. I was out of tears, but I couldn't stop crying.

"We'll get through this," Garrett said softly. "Everything will be okay."

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Garrett…"

"Just remember you're not alone. You have me, Jared, Peyton…all the guys…we're here for you."

We arrived home, and I headed straight for our bed. I lied down and pulled the covers over me. I didn't feel like moving, at all.

Garrett lay down beside me. "Is there anything you need?"

"To die," I replied.

"Don't say that, please…I told you. Everything will be okay. Trust me." He kissed my cheek and stood up. "I'm going to be in the kitchen making some dinner. If you need me, just yell for me. I love you."

As he exited the room, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. There was one person that needed to know about this right now.

I browsed through my contacts until I found who I was looking for. When the name was highlighted, I just stared at the screen. I finally pressed the green button.

_Riiiiing_

"Pick up, please…" I said to myself.

_Riiiiing_

"Come on, please…"

_Riii-_

"Julia? Hello?"

I didn't have the balls to say hello back. I just hung up and put my phone beside me.

A few minutes passed, and there was no call back. I was kind of relieved, because I knew if that phone rang, I would have to answer.

"_I'll never be your beast of burden__  
__So let's go home and draw the__curtains__  
__Music on the radio__  
__Come on baby make sweet love to me"_

That dreaded song played over and over and over. I didn't want to pick up the phone. I knew it needed to be done, though.

"Hello?" I answered shakily.

"Hey...what's going on?"

"There's something I have to tell you…"

"What is it?"

"But, just know, this is your damn fault, and I don't want anything to do with you after I tell you this. You just have the right to know, okay?"

"Julia, what the hell is going on?"

I didn't know if I could say it. I didn't want to say it.

"Julia!"

"Cameron….I'm pregnant." I hung up the phone, turned it off, curled up into a ball, and cried.

"We can either watch…The Lion King or Aladdin," Garrett said as he was looking through his movie collection. "Those are my two favourite Disney movies."

"Aladdin," I answered quietly, snuggling under the blanket. We were on the couch watching movies together after I had the breakdown when calling Cameron. The only other people who knew besides Cameron and Garrett were Peyton and her dad. Everyone else could wait.

"Do you need anything else while I'm up? Water, or..."

"I'll take some water," I replied.

As soon as he walked into the kitchen, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out and I had a text from Peyton.

_Have you decided what you're going to do when it gets here? _

I texted her back.

_I haven't even thought about it. I'm only 21, Pey. I'm not ready for this…_

Garrett reentered the living room and sat down beside me, handing me a glass of water.

"Thanks, dear," I said, taking a sip of it.

"No problem," he replied, leaning back and putting his arm around my shoulder. Then I received another text from Peyton.

_You could always give it to a family who physically can't have children._

I stared at that text for the longest time. She had a very large point. There was no way I was ready for a child to come into my life. I haven't even thought about children yet.

I closed my phone and looked over at Garrett.

"What is it?" he asked me.

"Can we talk about something important?"

"Of course. What about?"

I pointed to my stomach.

"Oh…well, what about her? Or him? I hope it's a boy, though," he stated.

"Why?"

"Well, I guess since I'm a male, it's kind of a want for your child to be a boy, you know? I'm really excited for this child, Julia!" he exclaimed, pulling me in for a tight hug. That's not what I wanted to hear.

"That's what I…wanted to talk to you about," I mumbled.

"About the baby?"

"About keeping it."

"There's no way I'm letting you get an abortion, Julia. Don't even think about it," he stated, putting his hand on my stomach.

"No, no, I would never do that…"

"Well, what is it?"

"I…" I cleared my throat. "I want to give the baby away. I mean, to a family who can't have children on their own…"

He took his hand off my stomach and crossed his arms. He gave me a look that I didn't want to see. "Are you serious?"

"Yes Garrett…why wouldn't I be?"

"Why on earth is this even in your mind?"

"Garrett, you are 20 and I am 21. You travel all the time. I couldn't bear being here all by myself all the time with his kid, this kid that was created by a guy I don't even love and I don't want anything to do with, anymore. I'm not ready for a child."

He shook his head. "We are though, Julia, and it should mean something to you that I'm here supporting you one hundred percent. I could leave and let you deal with this with Cameron, but I'm not. I'm sitting here beside you, ready to take on the position as this child's father. I love you more than anything, and I can tell you I already love the life that is growing in your stomach as if I made it myself." He was getting teary-eyed, and so was I.

"Garrett, I can't have this child. This baby needs parents that can be there for it twenty-four hours a day, and that's going to be hard when you're in a major band, touring all the damn time."

Our voices were getting louder. "Julia, this can work! If you would just trust me, we can both raise this baby!"

"Garrett, it won't work out unless you quit The Maine and stay home, and I am NOT letting you do that! We can make two people happy by giving them this baby, but you can't see that because you're being so selfish right now!"

He stood up, as did I. We were screaming at each other, now. "Julia Bell, you're the one who is being fucking selfish! You're thinking about how YOU can't handle this, or how YOU aren't ready. YOU, YOU, YOU. I told you that we could make this work! I told you to TRUST me, Julia! If you're not going to keep this baby…OUR baby, then I'm leaving."

"Garrett….I …..can't….-"

Garrett sighed and shook his head. He then turned and headed for the front door.

"You might want to pack your things up. I'll call Peyton and tell her to come pick you up."

I fell to my knees, sobbing so much I could barely hear myself think.

"Garrett…don't...leave me...please...You can't…do this…"

He opened the front door, and right before he walked out, he quietly said, "Bye, Julia."

And with that, he was gone.


End file.
